Keeping It Together:Piecing Her Together Sequel
by vampandwolflover
Summary: This is my equivalent of Eclipse in the twilight series. Victoria is back and although Bella's cousin Abby was there to help pick up the pieces when Edward left, how many people can she fix before one slips through her fingers. See how it develops in the sequel to Piecing Her Together, Keeping It Together.
1. Chapter 1: Late

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Late**_

Forks, Washington never felt warmer. I don't mean literally, because the weather is quite freezing and wet. What I mean by the phrase it never felt warmer is that I had never felt happier and more loved than I have while living in Forks.

Bella and Edward have been joined at the hip ever since we rescued him on Spring Break. Granted, I am also joined at the hip with Embry Call when he isn't running patrol or we're both not in school. Amy has been so happy to have so much love in her life. Rosalie and Emmett pick her up every day after school, take her on some spoil-filled-adventure and bring her home by five. Esme and Carlisle are over often as well. After hearing about the pregnancy, Esme can't help but cook all of my dinners and talk baby with me. Carlisle, by default, wanting to spend all his time with Esme, comes over and reads or does work until Esme leaves.

I think Alice is suspicious about my pregnancy. I'd love to tell her, especially because I need some major help going shopping for maternity clothes and baby furniture and baby clothes. Normally, Alice tends to go shopping and Jasper goes with her, but they both come over around dinner time to show off all of her purchases, which is why she hasn't over-heard about the baby yet.

Embry stays over all afternoon when he isn't running patrol. He tends to spend nights with me too, unless he has a test the next day or his mom is starting to worry about him. Bella always eats dinner with Charlie and Edward, who naturally sits there awkwardly because of his "special diet." Honestly, I know Charlie thinks something is "funky" with Edward and the Cullen family, but he won't say anything for Bella's sake.

The pregnancy is moving along and I am in some serious need of new clothes. I'm surprised no one at school has mentioned anything about my abnormally large belly. Neither has Bella or Alice or anyone really. I'm afraid one day it will just slip out or something because I'm too tired to keep my baby a secret any longer. That's also the hardest part too, because I want to scream at the top of my lungs that I'm having a baby. He or she, no matter how unplanned, has been my source of joy ever since the minute I found out that Embry and I were having a baby. The even more awkward part would be explaining to everyone that we were bright enough to use multiple types of birth control, they just happened not to work so well. That very first night we made love was the night Jr. was conceived, because not only did the condom break, but I had also forgotten to take my pill that one day out of the entire two years I've been on the pill. Embry and I joke about the two of us being the most fertile people on the planet for us to conceive a baby in just one night. Granted, we had sex after that night, but that was the only night our protection didn't quite work properly.

Now that the baby is on the way we couldn't be happier. Embry's proposal to me is a story for another time, but in short he asked if I wanted to get married this summer, before the baby came, not in a rude, un-planned way, but the way with flowers, a ring, and romantic moonlit dinner. I said I would happily marry him this summer but that I wanted to wait a month before we started telling anyone. His mom knows, especially because she legally has to approve of our marriage because Embry is underage. We decided that we will start publicizing the wedding and the baby in May. It's the perfect time because the weather will warm up and I won't be able to hide a baby bump under my clothes any longer.

Its mid-April and raining, as usual. Embry kissed me awake and disappeared out the window to go to school, telling me that he'd see me for dinner tonight. Fridays had become the barbeque nights at my house with werewolves and vampires alike. Although only the werewolves and humans ate, it was the perfect time for socializing, bonding, and easing the tension between the two groups that had long been established as enemies. Esme, Emily, Bella and I would cook, the boys would talk, wrestle, or watch sports on the high-definition, flat screen television Emmett insisted he buy for the house if he was going to be spending so much time here. The other girls would socialize with us as we cooked.

Before leaving, Embry did give me a quick update about who would be coming tonight.

"Do you remember Leah and Seth Clearwater? Harry's kids?" He asked skeptically.

"Of course! Are they coming too?"

"Not exactly," he fished for the right words. "A few weeks ago, they started shifting after losing their dad. Sue is shocked by the news. Leah is freaking out because she thinks that she's a genetic dead end because girls haven't been known to shift, and Seth thinks that being a wolf is the coolest thing on the planet."

I sat there, taking in the information. Two new werewolves, one of which was not happy about the situation. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Sam is convinced that you could talk some sense into Leah, like you do everyone else. Leah won't let Sam or Emily go near her because of what happened with the imprinting and she frankly despises the entire male race. Sam just wants you to talk to her today to try and get her to calm down. She won't stop shifting because she gets so enraged all of the time."

"What makes you think that she'll listen to me? I'm after all friends with a family of vampires, who are the beings that make her change into being a werewolf."

"Because that is your only downfall. Leah is a logical person, she knows you have never caused her any harm, nor have you ever caused anyone heartbreak. She hates people who cause heartbreak."

"Remind me never to break your heart." I kissed him on the cheek as he sat half way in the house, half way out, resting on the window sill.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." He stole a kiss too. "So you'll try to talk to her?"

"Yeah, I'll go after I get out of school. Everyone won't be coming over for a few hours after that, so I'll be fine on time. Where is she staying?"

"Sam's place," he replied.

"Well, that's the dumb."

"Why?"

"Because she obviously isn't over Sam, and even if she was, being in his house that he now shares with Emily would just constantly poke at her emotions. I'm surprised she hasn't torn the house down. Does she need any new clothes? Never mind, I'll bring her something anyway, chances are she's tiered of wearing rags." I kissed Embry one more time before insisting that he needed to leave before we were both late for school.


	2. Chapter 2: Daniel Powter's Day

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Daniel Powter's Day**_

School passed by quickly for my mind was not exactly in class. I spent all day thinking of how to talk to Leah. Did I ask her to go on a walk, to get her out of Sam's house? That seemed like the best approach to me. We could walk on the beach. I always had my best talks with people on the beach. Before driving to the reservation, I texted Esme letting her know that I wouldn't be able to spend time with her this afternoon. She replied immediately saying that was quite alright and if Leah didn't mind the smell too much, she would be welcome to the Cullen's house anytime for some food or company.

Although Leah at this stage in her transformation, would not react well to vampire scent, let alone want their company, I promised Esme I would at least mention it. I did ask if in the process Leah would be breaking any treaty laws, and Esme said not at all. When inquired why, she replied by saying the treaty specifically stated male wolves, nothing of the female wolves. What a great loophole? Esme also said that if the wolf was invited by a Cullen that the treaty wouldn't be broken. Brilliant.

I drove down to La Push, easily navigating my way to Sam's house. Leah was the only person in the house, because Seth could already handle himself, and she was under "lockdown." Sam didn't want her leaving the house unless she could handle herself in public, so she was under alpha order, and all that testosterone couldn't be helping Leah get over her transformation. Not only did she have to deal with the heartbreak from Sam, she was still dealing with the grief of losing her father and being a "genetic dead end," as she so harshly put it. I was breaking her out of the jail cell because she undoubtedly needed it.

I pulled into the driveway and threw my car in park. Grabbing the bag of spare clothes, I headed to the front door. I used the hide-a-key to unlock the door and let myself in. I walked to the basement where Sam kept people when they were transforming. The basement was quite comfortable with a couch and bed. Well, comfortable if you were being held against your will, if you wanted to stay somewhere overnight, it wouldn't be in this basement. Maybe a Motel 6 would be the better choice. Staring at the ceiling, Leah sat on the worn mattress, not sleeping a wink. I knocked on the wall as I came down the stairs; although she would hear me anyway, I wanted to notify her of my approach in a more polite way than just barging in.

"Is it alright if I come downstairs?" I asked before fully stepping into the room.

"Do I have a choice?" Leah moaned.

"You always have a choice, but I brought clothes and I'm here to break you out, if you want it, of course." I held up the bag of clothes as a peace offering.

She lifted her form off of the bed and gingerly accepted the clothes. Not one to be shy, she started undressing in front of me. I wanted to give her the privacy she deserved, so I turned away. She changed in a flash and sank back onto the mattress, slinking back into the tormented state.

"Come on and get up." I motioned for her to follow me.

"I can't; Alpha order forbids it."

"Alpha order prohibits you from leaving if you can't control yourself. Take a deep breath and walk with me. You'll be fine." With my assuring words, she followed me up the stairs.

"Have you had anything to eat today?" I asked, passing the kitchen on our way out.

"He ordered me to eat this morning, but it wasn't the meal I would have preferred." _He _referring to Sam. It must still hurt her to say his name.

"I'll drive us to get some food and then we'll go on a walk, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, that sounds wonderful." She commented more to herself than me as she looked wistfully out the window.

I opened to door and walked to my car. I looked back to see Leah testing the doorway, pushing against an invisible barrier. Luckily, her hand just moved through air, and with a breath of relief, she left the house and walked to the passenger side of my car.

I drove us to the diner where Kathy, Embry's mom, works. When I walked through the door, she walked over to me, hugged, and asked if we wanted a booth or table. I replied warmly, saying a booth would be great. She sat us down at a secluded booth, handed us menus, and told us to order anything we wanted and that it was on the house. I ordered a bacon, avocado cheeseburger; a garden salad with ranch; and an Oreo shake. I may be a pig, but I'm eating for two. Leah ordered exactly what I did, but twice as much. She may not have been feeding two but she hadn't had a meal of her choosing in a week and those wolves could burn off calories like no other. Leah didn't say a word after ordering. So I did.

"I can't say I know what you're feeling about the whole wolf situation, but I know the pain of heartbreak and I know it sucks. You don't have to talk about it, but trust me on this, talking is the fastest way to getting back on your feet." I sipped my water and realized how cold my fingers were. Leah stayed silent, thinking over my words, as Kathy came over and I ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Kathy smiled, whipped it up in no time, and Leah looked ready to talk.

"It hurts the most to be around them, seeing them happy when I'm falling apart. Not only do I have to realize that there was no way I could even fight for Sam's love, but that chances are I'm also a genetic dead end and won't ever find love." The words rushed out all in one breath and Leah finally sighed in relief that she could talk to someone about her pain who had no direct involvement.

"Believe me when I say you'll find love again. Leah, has anyone told you why I moved to Forks?" I wondered how much she knew about my story.

She shook her head and said, "I only know that you moved here to be with your uncle and cousin."

"That statement is partially true, but the real reason I left California was to escape the pain. My boyfriend and I were walking to pick up my sister, Amy, from school. We were literally caught in the cross fire of some gang violence. He bled out in my arms telling me that someone else would love me as much as he did and that I needed to move on and go find the person that would love me as much as he had. My excuse at the time was that I needed to move Amy away from all of the violence, but in actuality, I needed to escape the pain. Don't get me wrong, I did want to get Amy out of there, but I just hurt too much. Luckily, Amy talked to me for hours. That six-year-old, five at the time, had more insight than most therapists. We talked for days about the perfect man we had lost. We moved to Forks and I found Embry a few months later, and I could not be happier than I am now. I'm not saying you'll find your man this week, or even this year. But talking out what happened is the best therapy possible." My hands wrapped around the cup of hot chocolate, and my lips warmed from the sweet sensation.

"I understand that he couldn't tell me about imprinting on Emily, or that he didn't have a choice either, but that doesn't help the pain. What's even worse is that because of this wolf thing, even if I do find love again, I won't be able to give him children." Leah seemed nearly on the brink of tears.

"I don't know why you would think that you can't have kids. Frankly, being a wolf doesn't change the possibility of your ability to have a child. Besides, most men don't want children." I continued to sip the liquid chocolate.

"But some men do, and with my luck, chances are if I do find another man, he'd want twenty kids."

"I don't want to hear the word _if_ from you ever again. You will find someone else, even if I have to travel to the end of world to help you find him, we will get you another man. Second, what makes you think that children aren't a possibility?"

"He has this theory that the reason wolves imprint is so that there is the best chance of survival for the pack. You imprint on the person you're most likely to have the strongest offspring with. So wouldn't it make the most sense if he, Jacob, or some other wolf imprinted on me? Not that I want them, but doesn't it make more sense that two wolves would make a really strong offspring instead of a wolf and a human making an average newborn?"

"There are so many points wrong with that theory I don't know where to start. One, making strong offspring has nothing to do with imprinting. We don't even know if Embry's father was one of the only three men who carried the wolf gene, whom were all married at the time of his conception. So if Embry changed into a wolf and imprinted, he would have to have Quileute heritage in his blood. Instead of thinking that any of the men were unfaithful, I think that Kathy slept with an unmarried man from this tribe that had no idea the legends were true. I think that every Quileute has the possibility to shift into a wolf, even the women. I believe the people with the most amount of Quileute in their blood and the strongest will power, change into wolves. Out of all the women in your tribe, you are one of the only ones I would single out as being a true warrior. That's why you are a wolf, not because something got messed up in your DNA.

"Secondly, imprinting has nothing to do with making the strongest offspring, because then Embry would have imprinted on someone from the tribe, not me. I think you imprint on the one person that would keep you grounded, the one person that you would want to fight to defend. Think about it, if you were unwillingly thrown into being a warrior, there would have to be someone you're willing to defend. The men in the army that last the longest are the men that have someone back home to fight for. If you were shot in some foreign country, would you fight very had if there was no one to come back to? Or would you fight to the ends of the Earth to stay alive so that you could come back to the one you love? That's the reason for imprinting, not offspring.

"Lastly, why would you believe the man that hurt you the most? He caused you pain so why would his theory be any more credible than the next person's? There is no reason for you to believe his theory over anyone else's theory. So ignore him and believe in what you want to believe in.

"Women are made to make babies; men are just the sperm bank. You are a strong, independent woman, who does not need to answer to anyone, especially the man who hurt you. If you think that you can have babies, then there is no reason you can't. If you want a second opinion, we can talk to Carlisle and he could let you know whether or not your parts still work." I drained the cup of the last bits of chocolate and smiled towards Kathy, who set our plates of food onto the table.

I started to dig into my burger as I waited for Leah's reply. I got three bites in before she asked me questions. "Who's Carlisle?"

"He's more formally known as Dr. Cullen. He's the vampire doctor. I know that chances are you wouldn't want to be around a vampire, but he's a genius. He could give you your answer, keeping in mind that you are a wolf. No other OB/GYN would be able to give you a checkup and know about your wolfishness." I finished off my burger and moved onto the salad.

"I have to give it some thought, and learn to control myself better, but I might take you up on that offer." She polished off her two burgers and one of her shakes before I could get half way through mine. "But I'm not sure S…Sam would be okay with that." She spoke his name for the first time today. It sounded painful, but the more she said his name, the easier life would become.

"Who gives a shit if he would be okay with it? Pardon my language, but you are a full grown adult. Wolf or not, you are entitled to an opinion about your body no matter who it comes from. I told Esme, Carlisle's wife, that I was coming to talk to you, and she said that anytime you want, you can go to the Cullen's house. It may smell like vampire, but all of the boys said that it's easier to stand the smell after spending so much time with them. The Cullen's are really hospitable people and Esme is one of the best cooks I've ever met. She said that the treaty would not be broken because it specifically states male wolves and that because you are being invited onto their territory instead of just rushing onto their territory, no laws would be broken. Esme offered company, food, and a place to sleep, if you ever need it and if you don't mind the smell." I ended my offer as Leah started in on her two salads.

"I might actually take you up on that offer later, once I can control myself and once I come to terms with this entire thing."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Now, if you're ready, can you tell me your story from start to finish? Not just about Sam, but everything, it will help with the pain." She nodded and told me about how they met, how she fell in love, how he missed school and imprinted on Emily, how her heart broke, how her father died, and how she changed into a wolf for the first time. She took bites of her salads as she told her story. After we finished, I tipped Kathy thirty dollars as a thanks for the meal being on the house, I hugged Kathy good-bye, and Leah and I drove down to First Beach for a walk. She asked questions about my story. She wanted to know how I dealt with losing my parents, losing my fiancé, moving to Forks.

The beach was oddly warm and we left our shoes in the car and rolled the bottom of our pants up to avoid the sand and ocean. Walking across the beach, talking, and retelling our personal stories were the most therapeutic techniques anyone could offer. We both cried a bit, with sadness at the heart wrenching narratives, with happiness at the rolling-on-the-floor-laughing anecdotes, with remorse at the moments that would never be lived again.

The sun started to set and I offered Leah to come to my house for the weekly party. She accepted and asked if I wouldn't mind her using my shower. She didn't want to go home to change, knowing the onslaught of memories would be too painful. I drove us to my house and walked in to the smell of mouthwatering, chocolate chip cookies. Esme had just gotten to the house and started cooking for tonight. I looked to Leah to see how she handled the vampire scent. She crinkled her nose in disgust but didn't comment otherwise. She and Esme exchanged pleasant greetings without touching. Leah knew she couldn't trust herself enough yet for contact. I showed her to the bathroom upstairs and offered her a new change of clothes. I headed back downstairs and talked with Esme about how the afternoon went. I reiterated Leah's concerns about being a wolf and the baby issue; of course, Esme agreed with me wholeheartedly. We cooked for a while and after an hour shower, Leah walked down the stairs looking a million times better than how I found her just a few hours ago.

She sat at the bar, talking back and forth with Esme and me, nibbling at the food. People slowly filled the house as the day came to a close. Sam, Emily, and the rest of the wolves were utterly shocked at the sight of Leah out of the basement, but no one commented. Embry came to kiss me and I knew that he was the only one who wasn't surprised at seeing Leah. He knew I could get her back together. Embry whispered to me that she hadn't even looked that pulled together after losing Sam. Food and comforting words worked miracles. Leah just needed a friend to talk to about Sam, the werewolves, and the baby issue, and I gave her that.

We all enjoyed the night and Leah asked if I would mind if she slept on the couch. She wasn't ready to face the house where her dad should have been, but she didn't want to go back to the basement. I told her that it was no problem. She slept the night on the couch after everyone left. Embry ran patrol that night, but came back at four in the morning. I snuggled into his chest as his arms wrapped around me. All in all, not a bad day.


	3. Chapter 3: Discoveries

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Discoveries**_

Saturday morning I woke up to find Embry sleeping soundly in bed, Lobo and Amy playing fetch in the backyard, and Leah cooking breakfast for all of us in the kitchen. I tried to help cook but she insisted that she cook as a sign of her gratitude for letting her crash on the couch and for getting her back on her feet. She had the fastest recovery time I'd ever seen. Granted, she wasn't full recovered, but she said she felt better now than she had in months. I told her that she was welcome anytime. Wearing a tight, maternity tank-top, there was no way to hide the belly bump. Very few people knew about the pregnancy. When I first had morning sickness, which happened all day, not just in the morning, some of my teachers suspected, but it all quickly passed and the only teacher that knows is the eccentric art teacher, Mrs. Treeta, who stated that calling someone by their last name was too formal and asked that we call her Cora, and yet I loved her class with the most adoration and was forced to constantly take bathroom breaks for my morning sickness. Having given birth to six children, she knew the drill and quietly asked me about my pregnancy, but only in passing. She did not want to make a mountain out of a molehill if I was uncomfortable talking about the baby. Feeling confident that she would not spread the information, I told her everything and she gave me great advice about pregnancies that only a woman who has had six children would know. Amy, Embry, Edward, Esme, Carlisle, and Kathy were the only other people that knew, and, wearing the revealing pajamas, I could not very well hide the pregnancy from Leah, not that I wanted to. For some reason I couldn't explain, I wanted Leah to know.

"When is the baby due?" Leah asked, gesturing to my belly.

"Carlisle originally thought the due date would be September 21st, but after a better checkup he decided that a more accurate due date would be October 31st. Embry's so excited we're having a Halloween baby. He keeps suggesting all of these witchy names for the baby. I know he's just joking but there is no way our son or daughter is going to have some dumb name because they're born on a holiday."

"I agree. Speaking of son or daughter, when can you find out the gender?" She served me up a plate of food and I started digging in only after I poured syrup on the pancakes, dipping the salty bacon in the sugary confection, moaning at the delicious of the contradicting flavors.

"We'll find out at the end of May, so one month. Carlisle said that if we want to drive out to a hospital in Seattle, they have new technology that will tell us the gender now, but Embry and I don't mind waiting. Besides, it's fun to wonder." I sipped at my cup of milk.

"What do you think the baby is going to be?"

"Embry wants a girl because he thinks another girl in the house would be easier to handle than another boy. I don't know why I think this, I just have a gut instinct the baby is a boy. Besides, it's fun to mess with Embry." I winked at Leah just before Embry drowsily walked into the kitchen.

"You and I both know that the baby is going to be a mini Abby, not an Embry Jr." He kissed me on the cheek and moved towards the bacon.

"And you should know by now that I am always right." I smirked and kept eating my breakfast. Embry went outside to get the newspaper and called Amy inside for breakfast. We all sat at the table passing plates of food and conversing about everything and anything. Somehow we ended up talking about why a snowman would never want a scarf to keep warm if he is made of ice. We originally were talking about hot chocolate. I'm not sure how the conversation ventured from point A to point G. Speaking of snowmen, Amy asked if we could make one today. I said that sounded like a great idea and she ran upstairs, Lobo bounding after her, to dress in **one**of the snow outfits Alice bought her. I don't even want to know how many are in her closet.

While Embry helped Leah clean up the kitchen, I sat at the table, for the first time in days, actually reading the headlines of the newspaper. There was another kidnapping and a murder in Seattle last night. Although the newspaper didn't state it, I knew that the kidnappings and homicide rates were higher now than they had been in years. The journalists writing the articles hadn't pieced anything together yet. The strange disappearances were always at night and the bodies that were found always had little evidence on them but were poorly disposed of otherwise. And yet they thought gangs were the source of all this destruction?

**DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE,**

**POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY**

Surely gangs weren't responsible for this because there would be some show of which gang could be behind the attacks, like a signature. Similar to how most serial killers have an MO, so do gangs, some style or trait that is specific to their gang. And there was no sign of that either. In fact, the police had next to no evidence at all. While some of the kidnappings involved gang members, the people taken, for the most part, were considered to be trash: druggies, runaways, homeless people, prostitutes, drug dealers, thieves, and so on and so forth. Gangs operated with a slight finesse that was simply lacking in these situations.

I wondered if there happened to be something unordinary, or magical, in Seattle and resolved to ask Carlisle about the situation later. Surely he, Jasper, Edward, or Alice had noticed this could not be normal. If a human could spot vampire mistakes this easily, the Volturi would undoubtedly become suspicious about the situation, bringing them here too soon.

I pushed the onslaught of worry to the back of my mind. Saving the newspaper in my room, I dressed for the snowman building. This April had been unseasonably snowy, giving us the chance to not only make one snowman, but also a snowwoman, snow daughter, snow son, and snow dog. Amy was thrilled with our creation and I smiled knowing next year this would be our family. A dad, mom, daughter, son, and dog were not exactly how Embry, I, Amy, Jr., and Lobo fit into the classic portrait of a family, but it would suffice. Embry argued that the snowman should have had two daughters but Amy, Leah, and I all argued against him. Leah oddly enough felt like part of the family for today. Not sure why, but she did fit into our odd configuration of a family.

She was adamant that I not to do too much heavy lifting. Was the head of a snowman really that heavy? Apparently she and Embry thought that I shouldn't be lifting an object with that much weight. Fun enough, she and Embry fought over who should be doing the heavy lifting for me. Embry won in the end because he pulled the imprint card, but we all thought to ourselves how weird it was that a debate even ensued. No one commented on the matter, but we all wondered why Leah's concern for my health rivaled Embry's. Ignoring the odd phenomenon, we finished the snow family and raced inside for hot chocolate.

The Cullen's all showed up half way through the day, admiring our snow family. Jasper and Emmett thought the family needed more members, and of course Amy agreed. Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, Edward, Bella, and Amy expanded on the family to include aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Embry and I watched from the porch. Leah said she needed to leave to run patrol. She did promise that she would come back after patrol if she could. She and I both knew that this many vampires, without the werewolves to balance out the scent, was overwhelming and she needed a temporary escape. I hugged her goodbye and sat back down with Embry on the porch while the snow family grew. Within four hours, the family was complete with three aunts, three uncles, and three grandparents. Amy wanted to make sure Charlie was included. Although some people wondered why there was a snow son in the whole equation, no one commented.

The rest of the weekend passed by quickly with visits from Leah and the Cullen's. Edward and Bella had one heated conversation, but other than that, the weekend was oddly peaceful. I asked Bella about the debate, and she said that Edward thought Jacob was _dangerous_. I laughed at the comment and wondered when was the last time Bella had seen Jacob or even talked to him.

Ever since the trip to Italy at the beginning of the month, Jacob stayed away from Bella. Even at the weekly get-togethers at my house, Jacob avoided being alone with Bella to have a conversation. According to Bells, Jake refused to answer his phone, so she had Embry give Jake a note. It took three days for Jacob to respond. I didn't see the note but from what Bella said, Jacob sounded hurt. I thought he sounded more heart-broken than anything else. Could it be that even though Bella only had interest in Edward, Jake had become infatuated with Bella? After all, they use to make mud pies when they were younger. Could the crush he had on Bella for a later date as well have started all those years ago? It'd be hard to tell, but that seemed like the most likely possibility.

I decided to save another probable issue for mulling over later. If I shoved too many thoughts to the back of my mind, I'd exploded but for now, I could handle this. But in order to settle the issue about Edward forbidding Bella to see Jacob, I persuaded him to think otherwise.

It was the following Monday after building the snow family and Forks was finally starting to warm up. Bella and Edward came over after school to spend time with Amy because Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle were busy hunting. Embry needed to run patrol so I decided that while Amy was occupied, I would fold the warm, fresh-out-of-the-dryer laundry. I directed my thoughts toward Edward, not that he couldn't hear me anyway. _I need to talk to you about Jacob Black._ Outside of that I guarded my thoughts by reciting the Gettysburg Address. I wanted to make sure he wasn't one step ahead of me, so I asked Alice to train me in guarding my thoughts. So far, I could handle smaller thoughts from escaping. He walked into the laundry and started to help me fold clothes.

"I know that you think Jacob Black is dangerous, but he isn't any more dangerous than you are. If you don't let Bella see him, she is going to run-off when you least expect it and risk her life even more."

"I realize that, but I can't risk her life like that. I can't lose her, again." He avoided eye contact as the torment seeped through his voice.

"So what if I compromise? Embry and I go down to La Push with Bella. At least that way Embry can help pull Jake away if he loses control. It's better than no protection and she'll feel like she got to spend time with Jake." Folding the last two shirts, I closed the dryer, leaving Edward to think over my proposition.

After putting the clothes away, I walked downstairs to the kitchen, where Amy, Bella, and Edward were starting a one-thousand piece puzzle of the Statue of Liberty. Edward glanced up at me, nodded his head slightly in submission. _I'll make sure that you know about the trip before we go down there._

I sat down at the table, getting in a few pieces before heading to the Fantasy Room. Although the garage had plenty of paintings waiting to go up for auctioning on the website, I felt drawn to my brush and easel. Not having any particular image in mind, I let the brush move of its own accord. I heard Bella enter the room and stand behind me on the left. She peered over my shoulder, interested in the painting. She sat down in Amy's worn, sky blue rocker.

"How do you know what to paint? I know I have asked you this a billion times but I still don't have a very good grasp on it." She sounded absolutely baffled.

Setting down my brush, I tried to think of a comparison she would understand. "It's similar to when you go to the library or a book store. Sometimes you walk in knowing exactly what book you want, where as other times you walk in with a vague idea of what genre you have a craving for, then other times you will go in wanting a specific book, they won't have it so you find another book by that author or in that genre. It's similar to painting in that sometimes you know exactly what the painting is going to look like, other times there is a general feeling you have or want to express but aren't sure where the paintings is heading until you're there, or sometimes you think you know what painting you are going to have but it ends up being something else entirely." I paused, wondering if that analogy made any sense. "Does that help, or did I just confuse you more?"

"I think I'm starting to understand. It's just what the Volturi said back in Italy. They said that your style of painting was almost from a different era and I wonder why they feel that way."

I snorted and thought and errant thought, completely off topic.

"What are you thinking?" She replied, missing the joke.

"I was just thinking that the Volturi have never been to New York to see paintings if they think my style of painting can only be found with in me. Other artists struggling to make a living have even better paintings than mine, especially in New York. Personally, I think the Volturi need to get out of that castle more often and see more of the human world. They might have more respect for human life if they realize the talent present with in it. It struck me odd that Demetri had never seen Rome but they live just a hop, a skip, and a jump away from it. I mean, how do you live over a century without having seen or known of the Roman collosseum? It almost pains me to see someone that unappreciative for the world around them."

"Not everyone can be the next Da Vinci." Bella mocked me and started to really see me for the first time in weeks. Her gaze traveled up and down my body with shock. She had been around me where I had been wearing tight clothing but she had been too enamored with Edward to notice the little person growing inside me.

"Are you? How long have you? Why didn't you? Do you know that you're pregnant?" She ended, finally deciding on which question to ask.

I nodded and let my hands rest on my protruding belly. "Yeah, I'm pregnant. When Embry and I had sex for the first time, not only did our condom break, but I forgot to take my pill that day too. So were having a baby. Frankly, we couldn't be more thrilled. I needed something to keep me busy after graduation. If I do too much painting the fumes will turn my brain to mush."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Hurt seeped into her voice but didn't show on her face.

"We wanted to wait until there was no way to hide the baby bump and once we knew there was a better guarantee that the baby would live. With medicine now a baby can be five months premature and end up being a healthy, normal adult. Embry and I didn't want to make a huge announcement before we knew the baby had a fighting chance.

"Believe me, I wanted to tell you but I was also afraid that the Volturi would find out. If they knew that I was having a wolf's baby all hell would break loose.

"But the real question is, are you ready to be an aunt?" I asked, looking down at where my unborn child was growing. Bella stood up and wrapped her arms around me and nearly started crying.

"I can't wait. What irritates me most is that I didn't notice until today that you were pregnant."

"My belly has been buried beneath layers of clothing and you've been busy becoming reacquainted with your vampire. It's quite understandable, but what is even funnier is that Alice hasn't noticed yet. I know that she wouldn't see a baby in her visions because my life is so intertwined with Embry's, but that still strikes me as odd that she hasn't looked at my enormous stomach or huge chest. Frankly, I feel like I've grown two cup sizes and my belly is the size of an elephant." We both laughed at the hilarity of the statement and talked babies for an hour. Edward and Amy made dinner for all of us, including Charlie. The discovery of my pregnancy was oddly uneventful compared to what I thought it would be.

But the thoughts that had plagued my mind throughout the day came to the forefront of my mind as I tried to fall asleep. My mind felt as though it was on high alert while my body completely shut down. How odd the human body is to work like that. When one wants sleep, sleep never comes, but when one wants to be awake and alert, the body ignores the mind's wishes. This is what went through my mind as I finally fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: The Talk

_**Chapter 4**_

_**The Talk**_

Today had been rather ordinary until lunch. I dropped Amy off at school and parked in my normal spot, between Edward and Alice's cars. Jasper, Alice, Edward, and Bella were all talking and I joined them but the conversation was insignificant in the big scheme of things. Alice was telling Bella and me that she needed to go shopping for more clothes while Bella and I insisted that she already had The bell rang and we all went our separate ways. At lunch we sat at our usual table, which was really two tables pushed together because our group had grown to be so large. Bella, Edward, Alice, Jasper, Lauren, Derik, Michael, Jessica, Angela, Ben, Tyler, Tyler's new fling, and I sat in a circle around the table in that order when Alice made her announcement.

"I think I'm having a party." She said think as if it weren't a possibility, more like reality.

"Another party?" Edward asked, not having heard his sister's thoughts.

"Yeah, it'll be fun." Alice insisted, glaring down Edward with her pixie death stare.

"You said that last time too." Bella reminded, and I almost burst out laughing remembering how well the last party went.

"Well, it couldn't be worse than last time." I remarked, and thought about biting my tongue and knocking on wood because it most definitely could be worse.

"It'll be great! You'll see." Alice persisted in requiring everyone to at least act like they wanted to attend.

"After all how many times are we going to graduate high school?" Jasper joked, but the more magical conscience part of our group smiled and restrained our laughter.

"I've never been to your house." Jessica remarked, mostly in astonishment that the Cullens were even having a party at their house.

"No one's ever been to their house." Michael added.

"Actually, I have and it's gorgeous, but Alice you really don't have a big enough shoe closet." Lauren's comment oozed with sarcasm that few of us understood thoroughly.

"We really need to set up an intervention for you, Alice. See how many days you can go without swiping your card." It'd be like AA, but in this case we'd have to call it SA. Shoppers Anonymous.

"I could do that. I don't know why you all think I buy too many clothes with my credit card." Alice crossed her arms and a little humph escaped from her.

"If we really wanted it to work we'd need to take away her cash too." Edward added, knowing she was going to withdraw as much cash from her bank as possible.

In reply, Alice simply stuck her tongue out at Edward and switched the conversation back to graduation. The dresses, the parties, the caps, the gowns, the diplomas, the whole nine yards. If it was associated with high school graduation, Alice discussed it. _She really does need an intervention._ The thought passed through my mind and I saw a small smile creep on to Edward's face.

Part way through discussing party details with Lauren, Alice got this far off look in her eyes and the four of us realized she was having a vision. Edward focused on her thoughts to see her vision as well, while Jasper just wrapped another arm around Alice, waiting for her to snap out of her vision. To distract everyone from noticing too much, Bella offered to help Angela with graduation announcements and I talked websites with Ben. I truly wanted to know if I could have multiple areas on the website. There was just a main page with my contact information and then the art being auctioned off listed below. We chatted for a bit and he told me that it was no big deal to add more. I wanted one page for my portfolio, or past pieces of art; another page for the auctioned area; a third for my bio and contact information; and a final page for art that I wanted to sell at a set price, no auctioning. He said he would work that out for me and update it as soon as possible.

While having that discussion, I paid slight attention to what was going on with the vision. During the vision, Alice, Edward, and Jasper looked worried. Edward because of what he saw in the vision, Jasper because he was feeding off their emotions. Bella and I both asked what was going on with questioning eyes but they each shook their heads and said later, which meant never. Although I knew Bella would persist and shake something out of Edward. And if that didn't work I could threaten to know something very important that Alice would want to know but can't find out about unless someone told her, like a certain baby. If Alice thought she was being kept out of the loop she'd cough up the information about her vision.

Nonetheless, no one noticed Alice's little snafu, but if the Cullens were so darn conspicuous about everything there wouldn't be an issue. Bella and I did the best we could about the distractions and that seemed to be sufficient in preventing everyone from noticing. After the little episode lunch continued as usual until someone mentioned prom.

"We should all ride in a limo together!" Lauren exclaimed, smiling at her boyfriend, Derik.

"There are so many of us we'd probably need two separate limos." Jessica commented, the distaste she had for the Cullens, Bella, and me seeping through her words.

"Actually, we could rent a party bus instead. It's the same as a limo but in bus form and we would all fit." Alice retorted sweetly, knowing Jessica's hatred and ignoring the enmity entirely.

"That'd be great! Embry's going to love hearing that we have a party bus because he'll actually be able to stand up in it." I sighed with adoration thinking about my man.

"So you're still with that guy from La Push?" Angela asked, completely interested in other people's lives, where as Jessica would ask just to compete.

"Yeah, and he's the best I could ever want. After Greg died I never thought another man would come into my life. In fact, I pictured myself as being the eccentric, painter while Amy went to college, got married, and had kids. It's nice to know that I don't have to be alone for the rest of my life, however long or short it may be, because I know that he'll stand with me until the end." Most teenagers tend not to understand lifetime commitments because they have never seen the life leave someone's eyes or held them as they experience their last moments of life. Teenagers are inclined to believe that they are invincible and the world is their playground, finding out in the most painful ways that life moves on whether you want it to or not, that the world will continue whether you are alive or not. It's a frightening concept, but one that I understand a bit too well. But with Embry in my life, I feel that although the world will move on when I'm gone, I know that it was fun while it lasted and that is what life is made for….. Living…. Loving…. Laughing…. Enjoying every breath while there is one to enjoy. And I'm glad that I have someone to live, love, and laugh with me.

"That's sweet, but isn't that a big decision to make this early in life." Angela responded skeptically. I knew that she would support me in any decision, but like I said, that doesn't mean she would understand.

"When you've seen as much love, life, and death, you'll understand more of life to know that when you make a decision like this there is no guess work, you just know. You just know with whom you want to spend time and with whom you don't. Embry and I just know."

A deep husky voice spoke from behind me. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

I whipped my head around to face Embry, looking like a god, dressed in worn jeans, a white, short-sleeved shirt, and a leather jacket. A smile broke across his face that it too close to perfection to even be described. I raced to get out my seat, nearly tripping on the way. Embry met me halfway, wrapping his arms around me, brushing his lips against mine. I tilted my head back to look into his eyes.

"What are you doing here? I thought I was going to come see you after school."

"I couldn't wait that long, so I decided that I should come surprise you at school and we can spend the rest of the day goofing off. I called Rose and Em, they said they'd watch Amy this afternoon."

I smiled on the inside and outside. _How could he be so perfect?_ "But wait, don't you have school?"

"I already turned in the work to my last few classes. My teachers let me ditch for the rest of the day."

"Well, I still have food on my plate, so help me finish what's on my plate before we leave." I pulled him to the table. He pulled out the chair, sat down, and I sat in his lap. With his height, he could still see over me with ease. He finished my sandwich and I kept talking with the rest of the people at my table.

"So, baby, do you want to go to Prom with me?" I asked, tilting my head back against his chest so I could see his face.

"I'd love to take you to Prom." He dipped his head to brush his lips with mine. The girls at the table, excluding Jessica not that she counts as being human all awed at our affection.

His expression turned dark for a second, as if he were remembering some horrid fact. "Wait, is Alice going to dress us again? Or can we just wear the same thing from Winter Formal?"

"Of course I'm picking out new outfits!" Alice objected, her face shadowed with horror at the thought of wearing the same dress twice.

"That's too bad. I really liked the dress from last time." Embry's eyes threw me a heated look that would have melted any girl.

Well, two could play that game. "Yeah, especially because I barely had the chance to _wear_ it. I feel like it spent more time in my closet than on me." _Not that it was in my closet for long either- more like my bedroom floor._

Embry's eyes burned with too much lust to be publicly appropriate. We both had to look away from each other before we just ripped each other's clothes off in the school cafeteria. _Maybe I'm just more hormonal because of the pregnancy._

"Well, it's great that you can come too, Embry, because now we can have a full limo." Lauren giggled with excitement.

Embry polished off the rest of the food on my tray, and he nodded in acceptance to Lauren's comment. "He's always this hungry. I think I'm going to have to go out to a second lunch or he'll starve." I suggested, and Embry smiled in agreement.

"Well, I'll see you guys later, but we're going to spend the day getting lost." I jumped off Embry's lap, said goodbye to everyone at the table, threw my backpack over my shoulder, and started heading towards the cafeteria exit, pulling Embry along. He stopped me for a second, taking the backpack and putting it on his shoulders. _What a gentleman!_

Of course it was raining like a hurricane outside, so I reached into my backpack for my umbrella. Embry held the umbrella for me as I pulled up the hood on my jacket. Once outside, we dashed to the parking lot, avoiding puddles lakes along the way. I grabbed the keys from my pocket to be ready to turn on the heater the second we were in the car. Even though it was pouring, Embry still opened the door for me. I started up the engine and turned on the heater full blast, trying to warm my hands and dry my hair. Embry hopped into the car, shaking his head, getting water droplets all over me.

"Hey! Is that really necessary?"

"Sorry, baby," he apologized, leaning over the center console to give me an apologetic kiss.

"Why don't we head to my house first to get dry clothes?" I suggested, exiting the school parking lot, turning onto the main drag.

"We'll still be wet where ever we go. Let's just drive and air dry."

"Sounds like a plan. But where are we going?"

"I thought maybe we could go hiking, but it's raining too hard for that. How about a movie in Port Angeles?"

"Works for me. Blood and Guts or Romantic Comedy?"

"You choose." He smiled, knowing what my answer would be.

"Does it matter? We're just going to make-out the whole time anyway." Throwing his head back, he gave a good hardy laugh.

"I thought you were going to pick Blood and Guts…."

"Which is why I gave you the response I did." I threw him a knowing smile.

"That is a valid point; we probably shouldn't waist money if we're just going to kiss for two hours."

"Let's go to that little coffee shop with the comfortable couches."

"But you can't drink coffee while you're pregnant." Embry responded curiously.

"Have you actually been reading those pregnancy books?" Embry just shyly ducked his head in response. "I wasn't planning to drink coffee; in fact, I rather dislike coffee because it's too bitter for me. I was going to order a hot chocolate." I eyed a pair of golden arches and turned into the drive thru, remembering that Embry would still be hungry.

"What are you hungry for?"

"Three quarter-pounder cheese burgers and two large fries." He replied, unashamed of his eating habits.

I laughed at his hunger and then realized I was hungry too. I rolled down the window and placed Seth's order and also bought chicken tenders and fries for myself. It probably wasn't the best food for the baby, but I didn't want him or her to starve either. With our bag of grease and sodium, we drove to a parking lot near the beach. We sat, eating burgers, watching the sun slowly drift across the sky, wondering if we stood still long enough if we could feel the earth move. It didn't happen, but we had a great laugh doing it, standing, looking at each other, wondering when we would start to feel the Earth turning. When it stopped raining, we walked on the beach for a bit, talking about what we should name the baby. My feet started to get cold from the wet sand, so Embry carried me in his arms for half an hour. The rain started coming down in a drizzle. We made a rush for the car, Embry shielding me from the rain with his broad shoulders, comfortably carrying me as if I weighed as light as feathers. The second we were in the car, I revved up the engine, blasting the heater, heading to the coffee shop with the comfy couches.

Running to the door, trying to stay dry, and failing miserably, we laughed the entire way. I sat down on the warmest, longest couch as Embry ordered two hot chocolates with marshmallows. When the drinks were ready, I stood up and held the drinks while he sat down. I cuddled into his side, our bodies molding to each other. We sipped hot chocolate, warming our hands, letting the scalding hot liquid burn out tongues in the most delicious way. We talked about how the house would change after the baby is born. We realized that we'd have to make the Fantasy Room into the baby's nursery. Frankly, I knew that Amy and I would both be heartbroken about losing the room, but we could just make our own rooms into our studios, especially because they are rather spacious. For the first few months, we'd have the crib in my and Embry's room. There was certainly plenty of space for a changing table and crib. We'd have to talk to Amy about giving up the Fantasy Room, but I'm sure she'd be more than willing because she loves that she is going to be an aunt. Embry and I kept talking baby for hours, but it only felt like minutes.

"Now that the room situation is settled, we have to set up a baby registry so that when I have a baby shower, people would know what to buy." I told Embry, remembering that we should stop by Babies R' Us.

"Remind me why we need to do that, instead of just buying it all ourselves."

"Bella suggested that we do this and I realized the brilliance of it two seconds later. The second Alice realizes I am pregnant, she is going to go crazy, buying baby gifts left and right. If we want any say in what our baby is going to have, then we need to be ten steps ahead of Alice, because if we blink she'll be a mile ahead of us."

"That's a valid point. I don't think she can control her credit card." He laughed.

"You mean credit card_s_." I joked, the funniest part of that statement being that she probably had two wallets to hold all of her credit cards.

"Do you want to go today?" He offered.

I glanced at the time on my phone, stunned that the time was already six o'clock. "We would have plenty of time to drive to Seattle and back before it was too late, but I think it would be better if we knew the gender when we went baby shopping. Besides, it's six o'clock, even though we'd have time and we'd still be back before you have to go patrolling, I think I just rather go home and watch videos with Amy, Rose, and Em."

"Then let's get going so we make it in time to watch all of the Disney Princesses." He lifted me off the couch and set me on my feet, but only for a split second so he could throw away our empty hot chocolate cups. He immediately came back to my side and lifted me up, thinking I was too delicate to even walk to the door. Once outside, he ran to the car, setting me in the driver's seat before taking shelter from the rain. I drove home, carefully avoiding the puddles. I pulled up into the driveway, noticing not only Rosalie's BMW, but also Carlisle's Mercedes, Edward's Volvo, Alice's Porsche, which Edward just gave her after Italy.

"What is everyone doing here?" Embry asked, speaking my mind.

"I'm not sure. Rosalie said it would just be her and Emmett watching Amy for the afternoon." I turned off the car. Embry and I walked to the door with skepticism. We dropped out coats and wet shoes off in the hall way. The house smelled great… like butter, salt, and chocolate. MOVIE NIGHT!

Embry and I had the same epiphany and rushed to the living room. There was food all over the place: hotdogs, popcorn, M & M's, sodas, Butterfingers, Kit Kats, pretzels, hurros this would have been weird if Amy was the only one eating. The entire wolf pack, including imprints, and all of the Cullens, plus Bella, were sitting in the living room, on couches, the rug, bean bags Alice had to have brought with her, and sleeping bags. Embry and I just laughed, quickly deciding to sit in the empty loveseat. Paul passed us some hotdogs while Esme handed over the popcorn that Seth had been hogging. We were watching the brand new movie Red Riding Hood, with Amanda Seyfried. I later learned that Alice apparently helped the costume designer, so she had the hook-up to get us a copy.

I was expecting an average teenage movie, but the entire time I kept trying to figure out who the wolf was and just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was proved wrong and had to start from square one. Even in the very last scene, when the wolf was revealed, I was still completely surprised, whether that was a result of my stupidity or the movie was truly well-done, we will never know, but I prefer to think it was the latter. Embry held my hand the entire time which was always comforting, and would have been needed if there were scary parts, but everyone in the room knew real werewolves and vampires, so this movie seemed more like a comedy and less like a horror, but for any normal person this would have been a great movie. We all loved laughing at the inaccuracies of the "werewolf" phenomenon.

The most abnormal part of the night had to be walking into the living room and seeing the werewolves, imprints, and vampires all intermixed. Even at the parties I had been having over the past few months, it was nothing like this transformation. The vampires had always stuck together, and the werewolves had always stuck together, occasionally talking to the others, but still on their own "turf", not leaving without someone from their own group at their side. Tonight was entirely different. Werewolves and vampires not only talking to each other, but sitting next to one another, having civil conversations. The whole thing wasn't a complete one-eighty, just more like a ninety. I knew it was coming, just had no idea it could be so soon. Don't misunderstand my train of thought I couldn't be happier the entire event was rather surprising than anything else. I wanted it to happen, the intermixing, but who knew that they would be civil so soon.

Sadly enough, the night did have to come to an end at some point. Emmett carried a knocked-out cold Amy up to her bed. Edward took Bella home, because she was still under Charlie's curfew and grounding rule, my house was the only one besides her own that she was allowed to visit. And just when I thought people would start saying goodbye, everyone started talking. Laughing at how wrong I could be, I headed to the bathroom, in serious need of a good pee. After relieving myself, I walked down the hallway realizing how quite it was; only a few people were talking.

"We know you love her, that's not our concern…." That was Emmett's voice.

"We just want to know if you'll be able to provide for her," Rosalie.

"That's not to say her paintings aren't selling like hotcakes," Jasper.

"We are just concerned about whether or not you will be helping make money to support her and Amy," Alice.

"Because what the two of you have is obviously very serious," Was that Jake's voice?

"Of course, what you have is serious, and we would never suggest otherwise," Leah, of course, had her concerns, which I expected.

"We just need to know that she will be well supported if the two of you ever decide to, I don't know, have kids or get married." Paul, too?

I had to put a stop to this madness. I walked into the living room, slightly furious and well… hormonal. _What do you expect from a pregnant woman?_ Hands on my hips, I started my own lecture.

"You all need to stop interrogating Embry. I have plenty of money saved away for all of us to be more than comfortable even if I decide to stop painting for ten years. Putting that note aside, Embry and I, frankly, do not have to answer to any of you. This is not to say we don't appreciate the concern, but it's our lives to live and we will handle it. Embry and I are still in high school for Pete's sake. Even though I am graduating, Embry still has another year of high school left that I would think it would be best for him to finish if he ever wanted any kind of job, not that he needs one. Besides, when was the last time, besides Carlisle and Same, that any of you ever had a job? I'm guessing never or 1935. So you all need to give Embry and me time to talk about what we plan to do after high school." I finished my rant and Embry opened his arms for me to come and sit in them, surrounding myself in his comforting warmth. I looked around the room and most of them seemed ashamed, except for Carlisle and Esme, who knew exactly how planned out Embry and I had out future.

"Actually, to calm all of your worries, I have an announcement." Embry spoke to everyone, but whispering into just my ear-even though everyone could hear it anyways- he said, "I was hoping to tell you in private, but this will have to do." Addressing everyone, he announced, "Because I have taken so many classes in my first three years of high school, during the year and in summer school, I have more than enough credits to graduate this year. In fact, I'm getting my diploma at the end of the school year. As for the job concern, I talked to Charlie about maybe working for the force and he said that they start this training program in the fall. I'd be a cop by Christmas. Granted, I know it won't pay well, especially in this economy, but it's a guaranteed job with a pay check at the end of every month."

"Oh, baby! That's fantastic! I can't believe you didn't tell me earlier this afternoon." I punched his arm for making me wait, but then kissed his cheek for making such an accomplishment, and then I kissed his lips because I wanted to.

"I kept trying to tell you all afternoon, but it never felt like the right moment." He smiled and kissed me back.

Everyone's concerns seemed to dwindle after his announcement. Esme and Rosalie cleaned up the living room as everyone started to say goodbye, getting ready to start their patrol, or simply going home for a goodnight's rest. After the concerned mothers left too (Esme and Rosalie could not stop fretting over me, Esme knowing I was pregnant, Rosalie thinking that something had to be wrong with me if I peed at least three time during the movie and twice afterwards) Embry and I were finally able to get some sleep. We talked about how I was worried that his job as a cop would be dangerous, but he assured me that not only would he survive through a bullet but that being a werewolf around vampires was much more dangerous. Realizing his valid point, I stopped arguing and just kept my small little worry to myself. He knew that I would be concerned, regardless of how he tried to comfort me. I knew that regardless of his comforts, I would have this irrational fear. There's love for you. Then we joked about the little interrogation session. Laughing at how we expected it from the Cullens, being as protective as they are, laughing harder about how we didn't expect the pack to gang up on Embry to protect me. We realized that in the long run they were looking out for Embry's interests, but we weren't sure they were thinking that far ahead.

I fell asleep. But just before I did, Embry assured me that he would have to leave at some point in the night, but that he would be back before I even knew he was gone. Most of the time I did notice when he left. Tonight was no different. My feet were a bit colder than usual and my bed wasn't as warm. Luckily, he came back just in time. We slept until noon the next day, enjoying the feel of sleeping well past when you should wake up.


	5. Chapter 5: Just for Kicks

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Just for Kicks**_

"'Cause just when I think we're through, memories come flooding back…"

"It's like in-stant-ly I love you like that… I was on fire for you; we can get it back again, if you don't say it's the end, the end."

"So don't turn out the lights now, lights now, lights now." Amy and I went back and forth singing the different lyrics of this new song, "Don't Turn Out the Lights". New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys had recently teamed up to make a new single. They're going on a tour together, singing their top hits and their new single. Frankly, we loved it and couldn't stop listening to it; so even as we were baking cookies for the wolves, we belted out the lyrics to NKOTBSB's new song. We bumped hips, dancing around the kitchen, singing way off key, adding ingredients to the mixing bowl, laughing as we spilled some of the sugar on the floor, not moving to pick it up, knowing Lobo could handle clean-up duty.

Embry was already out for the night, running patrol, but he would be back, promising to bring a few of the boys for a little dessert taste testing. Tonight-a fabulous Tuesday night- we were working on a cinnamon, chocolate chip batch, Paul's favorite. Embry says that he loves all of my recipes and would not be able to decide on a favorite, so then I switch between all of the different boy's favorite desserts for occasions such as this. Nothing special was happening tonight, Amy just wanted to bake. And just as I thought nothing special was happening tonight, I was proved wrong.

The rain was pouring down in that rhythmic pit-pat sound. Above the sound of the rain, I was lucky that I even heard the knock at the door. Knowing Amy could handle adding ingredients to the cookie dough mix, I walked to the front door, resting my hands on my slightly protruding belly. I looked through the peep-hole to find a soaked Bella, standing on my porch. You may think that this would not be very surprising to find my next door neighbor, cousin, best friend, standing on my porch, but it was. Every night, she and I have hour long conversations over the phone while Edward is dropping off his Volvo at home and while Amy is taking her nightly bath. Shocked, but welcoming the visit, I threw the door open and let her in.

"I need to talk to you about something important." She warned, taking off her jacket, placing it on the coat rack, slipping out of her shoes, leaving them next to the door.

"Don't tell me you're pregnant too." That was the first 'important' thing, which she could want to talk about in person, that popped into my head. I could handle my own pregnancy, but I wasn't sure if she could walk around for nine months with a little baby growing inside of her.

"Of course not! Edward and I aren't even… you know." She said, not able to say the actual words. "And we can't even have kids. But that's not what I came to talk about."

I let out a sigh in relief, but realized that we would have to have a little talk, because Edward and Bella obviously needed to do a little research on vampire pregnancies. Getting back to the situation at hand, I led Bella back to the kitchen. She sat on a bar stool, I moved to place a kettle of water on the stove for hot chocolate. Amy continued to make the dough, humming the music aloud.

I turned to face Bella, ready to hear her out. "What's going on?"

She twiddled her fingers, nervously, not sure where to start. Finding a good opening, she initiated the conversation. "I don't know if I told you about the other presents I didn't get to open on my birthday. Carlisle and Esme gave me plane tickets to go see my mom in Florida. There are two, one for Edward, one for me. He wants to go this weekend as a spur of the moment thing, I'm not really sure why it has to be this weekend, or why he even brought it up now, I just wanted to run it by you."

"Well, first of all, I think you should go, just because you haven't seen your mom in months and a little sun wouldn't kill you. Setting that aside, why would Edward want you to go this weekend, nothing exciting is happening that could put you in danger. Hell, you're not even going to be within a mile of any wolves, excluding Embry, who's always here, or strange vampires. So it's not the danger factor-"

"Actually, Charlie just told me that there was going to be a barbeque this weekend down in La Push that we're invited to. It's at Jacob's house. After Charlie mentioned that, Edward dropped the bomb about the plane tickets. Charlie kind of flipped, but less than I thought. I sent Edward home after that, needing to think things over. Which is why I'm here, asking you for advice." She was still twiddling her fingers. I heard the kettle starting to make that screeching noise, letting me know that the water was hot. I moved to make the hot chocolate, and then handed it to Bella, giving her hands something new to fidget with.

"Well, there is your motive for wanting to get out of the state; he doesn't want you around the wolves. Actually, that would be fun if you could come this weekend, because the barbeques are such a hoot." I started to think over the conversation Edward and I had before, about letting Bella go down to La Push, he seemed to be more comfortable with the idea of letting her go to La Push. "Honestly, I don't think that's it though. What seems much more likely, is that he want to take you to see your mom, in hopes that it will put off your desire to becoming a vampire so soon, that maybe you'll want to spend more time with the people you love."

She seemed to mull that over, sipping at her piping hot drink. "It's certainly a possibility. Regardless of the motives, what do you think I should do?"

"Frankly, I think you should go to Florida and ditch school on Friday to do it. It's not going to hurt your grades to miss one day of school. There aren't any essays, projects, or tests happening Friday. So school isn't the problem. There are barbeques in La Push all of the time. I even promise to take you to the next one. So you're not missing much there. And it certainly wouldn't hurt for you to get a little Vitamin D and go see your mother. If something happens this weekend, I promise to call you as soon as it happens, reporting all of the juicy details. Sound good?"

"That's the best solution I've heard all day. Thank you for helping me with this. I was starting to get irritated with Edward that he was keeping things from me and then he dropped the bomb on Charlie earlier. Let's just say it wasn't a good day." She ended her ranting on a sigh, lifting the mug to her lips for another gulp of hot chocolate.

My ears heard it, and my brain got stuck on it, _he was keeping things from me_. "Wait, Bella, what is he keeping from you?"

She laid her mug down on the table. "Alice's vision from lunch the other day. I've been trying to pry it from Edward but he keeps telling me that it was just a vision of Jasper in a place none of them have seen before, and Alice is getting worried. But I think that it's a fabricated story, just in the way he says it."

"Well, I still think you should go on the vacation, even though, chances are he is lying about the vision. I'll try and pull it out of Alice this weekend. The likelihood of it affecting your immediate future in a negative way is slim to none. Don't worry about it and head to Florida. I'll report back with full details."

"That works for me." She finished off her hot chocolate. "Thanks for the help Abby. I owe you one."

"I think you owe me a bit more, so I'll put it on your tab." I winked at her, trying to liven up the discussion.

She started laughing and then my giggling soon followed. A few minutes later, we wiped the tears from our eyes, we smiled at each other, wondering why we started laughing so hard.

"Well, I guess I should go let Edward in." Bella commented, sliding off of the barstool.

"What do you mean let him in?" I asked, skeptically, wondering if he was waiting outside and I just hadn't seen him when I answered the door for her earlier.

"After our little argument, he went home to drop off his car, telling me that if I didn't want him to come into my room tonight that I should just close my window. Being furious and stubborn, I closed the window and marched over here to talk to you. He's probably just waiting outside, waiting for us to finish this conversation, because undoubtedly, Alice told him that I would forgive him."

"Maybe it isn't that complicated. Maybe he's just hoping you'll forgive him and open your window." I proposed, taking the mugs to wash out in the sink.

"Your reasoning makes much more sense. Regardless, thanks for the advice. I needed it. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She waved goodbye, heading to the front door.

"Wait! Bella, don't you want to taste test the cookie dough?" Amy asked, running after Bella with a spoonful of dough.

Bella spun around to lift Amy into her arms. Amy fed Bella the cookie dough, making Bella moan in delight at the tingling flavors. A smile lit up Amy's face at her accomplishment to make the cookie dough all on her own. Thanking her for the taste test, Bella set Amy on the ground, smiling in appreciation. Amy and Bella hadn't bonded as well as I had hoped. After Edward left, Bella wasn't truly happy. Amy has always been drawn to happiness and love, not finding it in Bella; she failed to form any kind of relationship with her other than a fleeting one. It was nice to see them actually bonding like family should. Maybe there was hope for Bella after all. If Amy started to see happiness in Bella, then maybe she was bouncing back. It was about time for her to rebound.

Bella squatted on the ground, allowing for her face to be level with Amy's, lessening the intimidation factor. She spoke in that lighter voice, which most people used around the innocent. "Will you save me a cookie or two?"

"I promise." Amy agreed, her voice stern as if she was making a life commitment to this oath. Amy held up her pinky finger, ready to seal the deal, but Bella only hesitated a moment before intertwining her pinky finger with Amy.

Other than good-byes and promises to see each other tomorrow, no other words were exchanged. Bella headed back to her house, opening the window, letting Edward know that it was safe to enter and that she had forgiven him, slightly. Avoiding the pouring rain, he crawled up the side of her house, slipping into the window. She threw her arms around him, forgiving him with a passionate kiss, one he found unexpected, allowing it to continue longer than normal, sliding past his threshold for temptation. He, of course, broke apart the kiss, resting his forehead on hers, breathing in her scent. They both smiled, laughed, and fell on her bed, panting.

The cookie dough was slapped on to the cookie sheets in spoonfuls. Amy slid the trays into the oven, then rushed up the stairs for her bath, wanting to finish scrubbing before the cookies finished baking. Just as she came padding into the kitchen, Lobo trailing at her heels, the timer went off, like an alarm clock, but this buzzing had a more desired effect. The cinnamon aroma filled the room, contradicting the chocolate, causing anyone with taste buds to drool.

Placing the cookies on plates, Amy smiled at her accomplished work. I congratulated her, pulling out a gallon of milk for celebratory drinks—and nothing goes better with cookies than milk. After I finished pouring glasses of milk for Amy and myself, the wolf pack—only Paul, Jacob, Quil, Embry, and Jared could show up—walked in, salivating at the scent of cookies, letting their noses lead them to the kitchen. All of their eyes grew really wide as they spied the four dozen plates of cookies. When Embry promised them a cookie or two, I don't think anyone realized that could be six cookies. Amy and I just laughed at their expressions and poured them glasses of milk. We sat around the kitchen table, dipping cookies in milk, biting off pieces of the moist, warm cookie, talking about how things were going in the pack.

I broached the subject that made me truly curious, not having seen Seth since before his change, seeing Leah often, knowing she was adjusting to the wolf idea, not necessarily the pack idea. "How are Seth and Leah adjusting? This can't be easy for either of them, Seth being so young and Leah being the only girl with a ton of testosterone. Especially after losing their dad so soon."

"Seth loves it. He feels like he has this connection with his dad now that he is a wolf. Not a spiritual connection or anything like that, just a commonality of heritage. Leah is a whole other story. Anyone else want to jump on that ship?" Paul offered, handing off the grenade to someone else.

Jared picked up the ball, dropping the details. "She's adjusting to being a wolf, that isn't the issue. Being in Sam's head is the real problem. It's hard for her to hear his thoughts or be around him so much. I don't think she minds the rest of it. Except that well, we're kind of… guys, around a girl who has to shift and is, well, for lack of a better word, exposed on occasion. That irritates her."

"As it should! Just tune out when she's going to shift and look the other way. Would you ever look at me that way? No, because Embry would rip you to pieces for violating my privacy like that. Frankly, you're lucky that she has a good enough handle on her temper to not kill you for doing something as crass as that." I ranted, not letting up.

"We've apologized. It's only happened once, but boy was that awkward. Especially because she didn't just catch us looking, but she could hear our thoughts, too. We've all looked the other way since." Jared explained their actions.

"Well, that's good. I was wondering how the two of them were adjusting, Seth being the youngest, Leah being the only girl. I had the chance to spend time with Leah after her change, but I haven't seen Seth since Harry's funeral, and that was before he shifted." He seemed crushed, losing the most important man in his life.

"We'll bring him next time you're making something to eat." Quil offered, speaking around the two cookies in his mouth.

I just started laughing at his expression and how all of the boys seemed to constantly have some piece of food in their mouths at any given moment. The boys all just stared at me as if I were a crazy, hormonal pregnant woman. Their assumptions weren't far off.

The conversations continued, bouncing back and forth from average topics to werewolf and vampire discussions. Of course the boys were asking about vampires. Mostly, they wanted to know the details of what happened in Italy. I gave them the scoop, omitting the part about the Volturi's threat on my life. That information could be saved for a later date. Only the Cullens, Bella, Amy, and Embry knew about that part. It didn't seem vital to the story telling. Besides, the threat was more of a warning, as long as my story to the Volturi stayed true in their eyes, I would be fine. I continued answering questions about Italy, remembering the fear and anxiety I felt during the entire trip. Sensing my feelings, Embry squeezed my hand slightly, his arm tightening around my waist, assuring me that he was there to comfort me if need be. I tilted my head back, bringing my gaze to meet with his. We both smiled, our eyes only for each other.

All of the sudden, I felt something I hadn't before. It was not uncommon in a pregnancy, but I had not felt it yet and was not sure when it would come. Not even sure what I felt was even real, I paused, waiting for it to happen again, to reassure myself it had actually happened. Sure enough, he kicked again. My smile grew wider as I jumped a little in excitement. My hand quickly moved the spot on my enormous belly where I felt the baby kick, waiting for it to happen again. When I felt the little kick against my palm, I squealed with glee, searching for Embry's hand, placing it over the spot where I had felt the kick. He waited for a moment, clueless as to what was going on, until his face lit up with excitement that match mine.

Everyone at the table looked at us, wondering what was going on, assuming that Embry had caught the crazy bug from me. If happiness was the equivalent to crazy, boy did we need to be locked up in an insane asylum. To explain our weird behavior, I made a special little announcement.

"The baby's kicking for the first time." I smiled, feeling another kick. I looked back to my belly, rubbing over the mound. "Yeah, baby, we know you're in there. Did you like those cookies? Is that why you're waking up now? Did you get a little sugar rush? Or are you just excited because Daddy's home?" I cooed, talking to the baby that was growing inside me.

"I think he's excited because his Uncles are in the house," claimed Jared, moving out of his seat to come and check out my belly.

"I think Abby's right; she's just excited that Dad is home." Embry announced proudly, brushing off Jared's comment.

I took Jared's hand and moved it above the spot where junior had been kicking, letting him feel. "Are you honestly still hoping that this boy is going to be a girl?" I asked Embry, not really surprised that he was still calling the baby a she.

"Of course, girls are easier to handle." Embry responded, reiterating his belief about why he would rather have a daughter.

"But a boy would be easier for you to connect with. Besides, you'd always be over protective of a girl, trying to chase off potential boyfriends that could break her heart. Believe me when I say you want to have a son." I started to imagine Embry fifteen years down the road, chasing boys off of our property, trying to protect our daughter. All of the sudden, the entire pack showed up, ready to protect their 'niece'. Nothing could make me laugh harder in that moment.

Apparently, junior agreed, because another round off kicks went off, followed by Amy- the actual Aunt-, Paul, Jacob, and Quil-the fake Uncles- wanting to see for themselves if the kicks were real. Their expressions lit up at the prospect of someone new going into the world, however far away from the current date.

Amongst all of the turmoil and ciaos in our lives lately, it was uplifting to know that something as small as a baby's first kicks could bring such happiness to a group of people, that there was some small amount of hope left on this planet.

The guys left, promising to be back soon with Leah and Seth to taste test more desserts, to assure the general public that my recipes weren't poisonous. Embry stayed behind, letting the other guys finish off the rounds of patrol, wanting to spend the rest of the night with us. Amy went to bed with Lobo, happy as any five-year-old would be to stay up on a school night with a whole bunch of werewolves, drinking milk, eating cookies.

Embry and I went to bed, discussing this weekend's upcoming events, excited for the barbeque and spending the weekend together, as a family. "Goodnight, baby. Mommy and Daddy love you." I cooed, rubbing my belly, watching Embry kiss the baby goodnight before kissing me goodnight. We settled into a deep sleep, anticipating the upcoming weekend, sure to be filled with all kinds of excitement.


	6. Chapter 6: Crossing the Border

_**Chapter 6**_

_**Crossing the Border**_

Bella texted me as she was boarding the plane, thanking me for convincing her to go. I sent her my love, reminding her to go crazy and have some fun, telling her she would have to recount everything that happened that weekend. She quickly replied telling me to do the same. I smiled, snapping my phone shut. While Bella would be enjoying the Florida heat rays, I'd be enjoying the torrential downpour of Forks. Not that I could mind, I personally found it soothing. It was a normal Friday night that I spent inside reading curled up with a good book, Amy at my side, curled up with her own piece of fiction, Lobo at our feet.

Embry came home at some point in the night to find the three of us snoring on the couches. He chuckled, carrying Amy up to her bed, Lobo trailing at his heels. He returned back down the stairs, carrying me to bed, as if I weighed nothing more than a cloud. He peeled back the sheets with one hand, sliding me under the covers with the other, joining me seconds later, after turning off the bedroom light. His heat warmed me as I vaguely recognized that everything was right with the world.

Saturday morning we spent eating pancakes shaped like dinosaurs, watching Embry get syrup all over Lobo's head. Saturday noon Amy and Embry spent giving Lobo a bath while I stayed dry, cooking food for tonight's barbeque. Emily had asked that I make my famous chili, especially because it was so cold and wet outside. There was nothing better to warm people up than a bowl full of slightly spiced chili.

The barbeque was supposed to start at six, so we left the house at half past five, wanting to drive slowly in the rain. Embry insisted on driving as I sat in the back, holding the crock pot of chili between Amy and me, preventing it from sliding around. I slid my phone out of my purse as the ringer started to go off. It was a text from Bella.

_Thanks for convincing me on going to Florida. Couldn't have been better. Love B_

I sent a reply back, telling her that she was going to have to come to the next werewolf party but that her mom was more important. I laughed at my antics and just before I closed my phone I received a text from Alice. I had asked her earlier if she had anything planned for tonight or tomorrow because I wanted to spend time with her.

_I'm busy tonight, and I think you are too because you future is getting more confusing by the second. Have fun with the wolves. 3 A_

I giggled, sending lots of love back her way, insisting we spend time together tomorrow. I think it was about time to tell her about the baby. Embry and I talked about waiting until the end of May, so then we would know the gender and there would be a better guarantee of the baby's survival. But, I couldn't keep it from Alice anymore. She was one of the most important people in my life; to keep this secret from her any longer would be nearly impossible. Besides, I needed a shopping buddy. Alice had a knack for knowing what would look good before going through the unbearable process of searching for a decent looking outfit, and then penetrating through piece of clothing after piece of clothing to possibly find the right size. Alice could cut searching time from an hour to ten minutes, without the hassle to even try clothing on because she knew what would fit and what would not. Finding maternity clothes was even more of a bother, simply because clothing rarely looks flattering on an elephant and there is simply not enough energy or time to go shopping when you are tiered, pregnant, hormonal, hungry, and dying to go pee. Shopping with Alice made life easier. And keeping secrets made life much too hard.

Telling Rosalie and Emmett was a whole other story. They've known for only a week and are gearing up to have another little one in the world as if the baby was coming tomorrow. I sat them down in the living room, Amy sleeping upstairs, Lobo snoring at her feet, Embry running patrol. Intentionally, Embry wasn't there for this, incase either of them lost control. Apparently, my precautions were unnecessary.

Rosalie and Emmett looked a bit worried when I said that I wanted them to stay after Amy fell asleep because I needed to tell them something important. They retained their composure but you could see the worry in their eyes if you knew to look for it. Sitting on the couches, me relaxed and laid back, them uptight and worried, sitting on the edge of their seats, hands clasped together.

"Don't look so worried. It's nothing that terrible, in fact the news is kind of wonderful." Their expressions and stiff positions didn't change. I guess that only the actual news would determine whether or not they should be concerned.

I looked down to my belly, covered in layers by shirts and sweatshirts. I'd been doing this for weeks as to not alert anyone prematurely to my bump. Unless you knew, it was hard to tell. The only people who knew at this point were the wolves (because Embry couldn't keep the baby from his thoughts); Esme and Carlisle; Amy; Embry, of course; Embry's mom; Bella; and Edward. It was time my "pretend" parents knew.

"I'm pregnant." I said, my voice strong with conviction, having finally said the words often enough to enough people that I even believed the words.

They didn't gasp, or take a breath in shock, because they weren't even breathing. Vampires. I laughed mentally, taking another breath because I was breathing for two. Although I sat for what felt like hours, their expressions changed immediately according to actual time rather than my perceived time. Grins both spread across their faces, and they covered the distance between us to wrap me in a family hug.

"Embry's the father, right?" Dad asked, not a bit of skepticism in his voice, trying to make a joke.

"Of course! Em, how could you even joke otherwise?" Mom objected, punching Dad in the arm, in a way that would have hurt a human, but Dad just laughed at his humor.

"Is there anything we could do for you? Is there anything you need us to buy?" Mom's concern shown through in the words she selected and in the emotion on her face.

"There'll be a baby shower in a few months and you're welcome to buy the baby gifts then, but for now, we just need your support, and that includes Embry." I breathed in relief, realizing how worried I had been about their reactions.

"Anything you need, just ask. We never had kids and we don't need much, so if you ever need money or an extra pair of hands, don't be afraid to call. We'll always be here for you. And that goes for the baby, Amy, you, and Embry." Rosalie offered, making a huge commitment, one she had wanted to make for years.

"I know that I'm hard on Embry, and the rest of the mutts, but I'll try and make a better effort to get along with them." Emmett added, surprising me and Rose.

"I'm shocked that you made the offer, but thank you. It means more to me than you could ever imagine, but you do know that you already do get along with them fairly well."

"I do not!" Dad contradicted, crossing his arms like a five year old.

"Yeah, you do. Even though you wrestle with them and have disagreements about sports, those are just normal guy things, not mortal enemy arguments." Rose spoke the words that I was about to.

"Although, I don't doubt that a few of those will come about now and again, the local werewolves and vampires are starting to actually communicate like normal human beings." I added.

"We'll just have to be weary of the dangerous disagreements." Rosalie responded, wrapping her hand in Emmett's.

My thoughts drifted back to the present car ride to La Push. The streets were almost too wet to be considered safe, but Embry was driving slow and had better reflexes than the average human. I decided that it was time for Alice and Jasper to know about the baby; however, I wanted Embry's approval before I told them.

"Hey, babe, do you think it would be alright if I told Alice and Jasper about junior, tomorrow?" I asked, rubbing the side of my belly.

"It's perfectly okay with me, sweetheart. Do you want me to be there?"

"Actually, Alice and I will probably go shopping for maternity clothes afterwards, so if you wouldn't mind going to spend time with Jasper and Amy afterwards, then you can be there."

"Yeah, I don't mind spending time with Amy," his voice dripped with sarcasm as he reached into the back seat to tickle Amy, keeping his eyes on the road, making her burst into fits of giggles. "And out of all the vampires, Jasper's one of the coolest. Did you know he was in the army? During the civil war? And he follows pro football just as avidly as I do."

"He likes pro football? I had no idea. He's just so quiet, I would have never known." I sat back in my seat, cozying into the leather.

There were a few minutes of silence until Amy asked, "Sissy, who's going to be at the barbeque?"

"All the same people that are usually at the weekly parties, except no vampires. Embry, is anyone else coming?" I asked, turning my head from facing Amy to facing Embry's reflection in the rearview mirror.

"The only new people will be Seth and Leah Clearwater. They finally got the clear to come out and about. Even though you got Leah out of the basement a while ago, and Sam let it slide for that one party, he banned them from future get-togethers until they could fully control themselves, especially in large groups, regardless of the vampire factor." Embry turned the wheel, causing the car to turn onto residential streets.

"Really? I just thought that Leah just didn't like the party scene anymore. I didn't know she was banned! I'm going to have a serious talking to with Sam! This is ridiculous! He can't place restrictions on her and then want her to adjust to the changes in her life, and I don't just mean being a werewolf. Losing her dad was not easy on her: she needs to get out and about if she wants any hope of healing." I realize that my rant was not necessary for Embry or Amy to hear, but I was just getting started, and Sam was going to be getting an ear full later. Not tonight, but that's just because I didn't want to ruin the barbeque.

"Good luck with Sam, Emily already tried and if he didn't listen to her, I doubt that he'd listen to anyone else. Although, you are pretty persuasive." Embry smiled, parking the car against the curb, in front of Billy's house.

"I'll grab the chili, the two of you can head for the front door," my wolf offered, getting out of the driver's seat. Amy and I rushed to the front door, hiding from the rain beneath our hooded coats.

I knocked on the front door, just as Amy asked, "Who is Seth?"

"He is Leah's younger brother. He's a wolf just like the rest of the pack, but he's the youngest one they've had yet." I answered.

"What does he look like? How old is he?" Amy asked, he curious mind getting the better of her.

"I haven't seen him since he changed into a wolf, but he looks a lot like…" I started, but then the door swung open and Seth stood there, smiling like the goofy teenager he was. He smiled to me, then looked down to see who was with me and his stare went blank. I looked down at my side to see Amy with the same expression of awe.

Carrying the crock pot of chili, Embry came up behind me, saw the two of them, whistled, and then hollered, "Boys, it looks like we've got another imprint on our hands."

Hoots, hollers, and whistling came from the boys and shocked gasps came from the girls. All in all, everyone was surprised that another imprint had even happened. There had never been a pack this big, let alone this many imprints. It was supposed to be rare. Then again, wasn't all of this supposed to be rare, or I guess a better word for it would be unknown. Nonetheless, the most surprised out of the group were the imprint and the wolf. Embry scooted us all into the house, because the chill was starting to give me goose bumps. Still carrying the crock pot of chili, Embry gave a few parting words before going to set it down in the kitchen. "Hey, Seth, be good to her, because I really would hate to kill you." Although his words seemed to be all in good humor, Embry did make that not-so-veiled threat clear.

I made the introductions, feeling that it was necessary at this point. "Amy, this is Seth Clearwater. Seth, this is my younger sister, Amy Caldwell. I'll let you to get to know each other." Curious about a few things, I walked to the kitchen, searching for Embry.

I caught him already grabbing a bowl of my chili. I knew there was a reason I loved him; he eats everything I cook without hesitation. I sidled up next to him and spooned myself a bowl.

"Em, I'm curious. How is this thing with Seth and Amy going to work? I mean, she's six years old. Surely not old enough to have a boyfriend. Especially because Seth is over twice her age." My voice became high pitched at the end of my statements, concern showing through even in my tone of voice.

"It's hard to explain. I'm not sure I even fully understand it. When a wolf imprints, an unbreakable connection is made between those two people. He'll always be there for her, for whatever she needs. If at this age, she needs a best friend, he'll be that for her. If she needs a mentor, he'll be that for her. If she needs someone to watch over her, he'll be that for her. If she needs a boyfriend, he'll be that for her. But only when she needs it. He'll always care for her, but it won't be a perversion. He will start to have romantic feelings for her when she's ready. Even then, it's not when she decides she wants a boyfriend, it's when she is ready. See, I'm just rambling. I don't know that I'm explaining this correctly. You should have Quil explain this to you, he can do it much better than I can, especially because he can tell you from a first-hand experience."

"Wait! Quil imprinted?" I asked, feeling shocked more than anything else. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Quil wants everyone to find out by him, and I feel bad that I let it slip." Embry ducked his head, feeling ashamed.

"It's okay, baby. I am your weakness after all." I reached on my tip toes, to give his cheek a kiss. "Now, let's join everyone in the living room, so I can catch up on all the dirty gossip."

Embry carried my bowl of chili as well as his own, trailing behind me into the living room, watching the sway of my hips from behind, knowing I knew he was watching, and loving every minute. I sat down next to Jake on a couch, Quil sitting on the adjacent lazy boy, with a two-year-old girl on his knee, bouncing up and down. Embry handed me the bowls then filled the empty space beside me. We started digging in after giving our greetings to Jacob and Quil.

"So, who's the cutie on your knee?" I asked, starting to make funny faces at the baby, who was already smiling.

"This is Claire, Emily's niece. I've imprinted on her." Quil answered, barely letting his eyes leave the girl in his arms.

"I can see that," I replied, the obvious look of adoration spread across his expression. "She's certainly gorgeous. So, I'm curious, what is it like for you to imprint on someone much younger than yourself?"

"Embry, explained it right to you in the kitchen," Quil responded, and I started to wonder how he heard that until I remembered the super hearing. Sometimes, it's too weird to hang out with the super natural. Quil continued explaining, "What he left out is the age factor. Because we don't age while we are constantly changing into werewolves, her age will catch up to mine."

"You don't mind waiting?"

"For her, not at all. She's worth it." His eyes only left hers for a second to meet mine, and the only thing I could see there was complete devotion.

Leah walked in from the back door, shaking her short cropped hair, which was wet with rain. She smiled my way and came to sit by my feet after grabbing some food for herself. Amy and Seth, with bowls of chili in hand, came to sit across from us in the empty loveseat. Apparently, Amy had a new best friend. Paul joined us as well, sitting in an empty chair next to the loveseat that Amy and Seth had just occupied.

"It would seem that imprints run in the Caldwell family, maybe I'll imprint on your baby right there." Paul joked, pointing at my belly.

Embry wrapped an arm around my shoulder, being protective of me and our baby. "Embry, it's alright," I whispered in his ear. Turning to face everyone else, I spoke to the group, "I don't even think this baby is going to be a girl. And if it's a boy, Leah's the only one who could imprint on the baby." There were general expressions of shock around the room. Why is it that everyone thinks Leah will never imprint? Sexist jerks. "Regardless, the baby isn't going to be born until the end of October, so there's no need to even talk about who is imprinting on the baby, if anyone imprints on the baby at all."

All of the sudden there was this loud howling not too far off in the distance. Everyone jumped to their feet and started racing towards the back door. Embry explained to me as we walked to the back door, "Jared's running patrol. Something's wrong. We'll be back soon. Stay safe. Don't worry." He kissed me on the forehead and then the lips, before disappearing out the backdoor, following everyone else.

"I always worry." I said under my breath, not expecting anyone to respond.

"We all do." Emily replied. I turned to the rest of the room to see the other imprints standing: Emily, Kim, and Amy.

"Yeah, and they expect us not to worry. Idiots." Kim added, smiling, thinking of her own idiot, Jared.

"I wonder what's happening. There's never been something this…. serious. Except when that red head vampire was coming around." Emily remarked.

Then it all clicked into place. Why the Cullens couldn't hang out today. Why Edward had taken Bella to Florida. Why Alice wouldn't say anything about her vision. Why all of the werewolves would need to be called to help. Victoria was close by. I raced to my phone and dialed Alice's number, even though it was probably too late. The Cullens already knew about Victoria and were on the hunt. The wolves were just now finding out.

"Alice, I know you know about Victoria, but the wolves are on their way. Be careful. We'll talk about this later." I snapped my phone shut, and sat down on the couch in resignation. I opened my arms for Amy to crawl into my embrace. She snuggled into my side, resting one hand on my arm, the other on my belly. We all sat in silence. Waiting. Watching. For some sign that everyone was alright and coming back to us safely. After an eternity, they walked in the back door, arguing vocally like nobody's business. Emily rushed to Sam, throwing her arms around his midsection. Kim ran and jumped on Jared, wrapping her legs around his waist, kissing every inch of his face. Amy ran to Seth, stopping right in front of him, unsure of how to respond, until Seth opened his arms, and she stepped into his embrace. Embry came to my side, waiting for the dam to break. The second his arms wrapped around me, I burst into tears, kissing every inch of him my lips could reach.

Paul was still outraged over whatever had happened out there. "I can't believe that bloodsucker crossed the line and you wouldn't let me at him. He violated the treaty."

"Trying to catch the other bloodsucker, we are both after. Calm down." Jake tried to appease Paul.

"But he still violated the treaty. Shouldn't there be some… punishment?" Paul was practically whining at this point.

"Hold the phone, what happened?" I wanted answers.

"Victoria was dancing all along the border, as if she knew where it was, making it impossible for either of us to catch her. Emmett crossed the line trying to catch her, but Emmett doesn't think he crossed the border." Embry explained, to me, but loud enough for everyone to listen.

"Why don't we have a meeting at my house to settle this? I'm sure the Cullens would be willing to come to some sort of agreement." I suggested.

"Let's meet. We need to talk about more than what happened today." Sam replied.

"Come through the back door," I requested, already heading for the car. Sam nodded in agreement. All of the wolves stayed except Amy and Seth came with Embry and I. Embry drove because I needed to make a call. I was dialing Alice's number, thinking that she better pick up.

"Hello?" Her perky voice asked.

"Alice, it's Abby. Can you all meet at my house? The wolves want to have a meeting to settle tonight's conflict."

"Sure, we'll be there in ten. Bye, Abby." She ended.

"Oh! Hey, Alice." I called through the phone, hoping she was still on the line.

"Yes?" She asked, unsure of whether or not to be afraid.

"Firstly, come through the front door. Secondly, don't keep things like this from me." I requested.

"But…." She started.

"Don't give me any 'but's. You knew this was coming and kept it from me deliberately. I don't care what Edward's motivations were in getting Bella out of the state, but you should have told me. What if I had decided to take Amy on a quick side trip and that landed us in Victoria's path?"

"I… You… She… You're right. Edward made me promise not to tell you and I felt that there was no harm in keeping it from you. I was clearly wrong. I'll go behind Edward's back next time and just tell you." Alice resigned.

"That's all I ask." I smiled, praying that she could hear the happiness in my voice. I couldn't stay mad, everyone was alive and safe. For now. "Are we still on for tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. See you in a few minutes." Alice responded, the smile in her voice.

"See you." I snapped my phone shut, just as Embry pulled into the driveway. The four of us hurried inside. We shed out layers and headed for the kitchen, where this conference was going to happen. I started pulling out food from the fridge, cooking up whatever I could find. The wolves were less temperamental when they were fed.

The front and back doors opened at the same time. Everyone herded into the kitchen. Each side remained standing on their own side. It would have to be me to get everyone to be more civil.

"Could Carlisle and Sam each sit at opposite heads of my table? With everyone else standing behind them in a straight line?" No one opposed to my proposition and just followed through with my suggestion. I placed platters of food in front of the wolves, hoping they would start eating before the deliberations began. Jacob was the first to start eating, picking up a halved turkey sandwich.

Embry pulled out one of the chairs that normal sat at the bar. I sat in the seat that was much higher than the rest of the chairs and the table. It gave me a position of power in this deliberation, while allowing me to appear biased, being exactly between each side. Embry stood exactly behind me, not picking a side, deciding to remain neutral for me. What a heart throb. Amy stood to my left, towards the wolves, with Seth at her side, his hand wrapped around hers.

"Now that we're all set up, can we establish what exactly is being deliberated over? Whether or not Emmett Cullen crossed the boundary lines established by the treaty agreed upon by the La Push Tribe and Cullen Family? Is that correct?" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "With no objections, I'd like to ask if anyone from La Push would like to testify what they saw exactly. Please, no derogatory terms." The words flowed from my mouth, my brain functioning as if I were in the midst of a life or death deliberation, my composure calm.

Jacob stepped up to bat. "We were running along the boundary line, trying to catch the redhead vampire. When she crossed out of our lands we tried to keep up in case she came back. After a mile, she jumped back into our territory, and Emmett came after her, until Paul knocked him down. So in my eyes, Emmett Cullen did in fact cross boundary lines." Finishing his statement, Jacob stepped back into line.

"Thank you, Jacob. Is there anyone from the Cullen Family that would like to testify what they saw, either in favor or against Emmett?" I asked, not sure who exactly would give a statement.

It surprised all of us when Rosalie stepped out of the line and began to speak. Emmett surely was the most astonished. You could practically feel the betrayal he felt. Only once Rosalie gave her testimony did Emmett change. "It's just as Jacob said. We were chasing Victoria for about a mile when she jumped back into the La Push territory and Emmett chased after her, crossing the border in the process."

"How can you be so sure that Emmett did in fact cross the border?" I asked, wanting to cover all the basis.

"Because I was there when the original boundary lines were drawn up. I remember them well. When I saw Emmett cross the line, all I could remember thinking is what life would be like without Emmett. It's hard enough as it is, never aging, never changing, unable to have children, unable to grow old with Emmett at my side, watching our grandchildren run around our feet. But life with Emmett now is more than I could ever ask for. He makes this life worth living. The second he crossed the line, all I could think was, _I hope the wolves don't kill him, because I really can't live a life without him_."

I could almost feel the tears brimming in my eyes. "Thank you, Rosalie." She stepped back into line, wrapping herself in Emmett's embrace.

"If you ever do that to me again, I won't have sex with you for a year." Rosalie gave her own punishment to Emmett.

"I promise, babe. I wasn't thinking. I won't ever do that again." They both kissed passionately, but briefly. It was clear that the kiss they shared was just put on hold until they were in private.

Someone from La Push coughed, trying to bring everyone back to the situation at hand. I tried to end these deliberations with a quick solution. "Is there anyone who would like to argue against either Jacob's or Rosalie's testimonies?" No one spoke. "Seeing no objections, Emmett could you step forward and admit exactly what you are at fault for?"

Emmett stepped out of line and began speaking, "I, Emmett Cullen, crossed the boundary line agreed upon by the La Push Tribe and the Cullen Family." Ending his statement, he stepped back.

"How exactly would either of you like to proceed?" I asked, referring to Carlisle and Sam.

Sam was the first to speak. "We will allow this violation of the treaty, just this once, seeing as how we were, excuse me, _are_ both chasing after a common enemy."

"Thank you. There is no way we could express our gratitude more, but if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask." Carlisle offered.

"What could you give us?" Paul scoffed. Sam turned around , glaring at Paul, who immediately shut up.

"Medical attention? I realize that you all heal extremely fast, but if there is anything that is too drastic for your healing powers, don't hesitate to call. I am one of the only doctors that could treat you, keeping in mind your extremely high temperature." Carlisle explained.

"Thank you, we will take that into consideration. Now, there are other matters that need to be discussed, such as this red headed vampire." Sam replied, changing the direction of the conversation.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. Victoria is back? With all of the knowledge about the Cullens because Laurent told her as much as he could before he was killed." I hollered in outrage. Why could she not just leave Bella alone? Is there such a thing as taking revenge too far? Granted, the Cullens did kill James, but it was justified. He crossed the line by kidnapping Bella and trying to munch on her. Either way, it seems like Victoria is sticking around for a little while.

"That about sums it up." Emmett responded, answering my rhetorical questions about Victoria.

"What I don't understand is how she evaded us. We were waiting for her, because we knew ahead of time, due to Alice's visions. But she still evaded us. Not just a coven of vampires, but a pack of werewolves as well? It just doesn't add up." Jasper commented, more to himself than to the crowd.

"Regardless, I believe we need to come up with new treaty terms until she is caught. Just because you all have vowed to not bite a human being that means nothing to this other vampire." Sam started.

"I agree. What exactly do you propose?" Carlisle prompted, leaning forward with curiosity, resting his chin on his closed fist.

"The boundaries are kept in place, but there will be leeway as long as this vampire is in pursuit. In other words, if either of us is chasing her, no punishment will be given with regards to the crossing of boundary lines." Sam offered.

"That sounds reasonable. I should also mention that Victoria is after Bella. We are already taking precautions by guarding her, but is there anything else you can think of as an extra precaution?" Carlisle asked.

It was news to me that they were guarding Bella, and I'm sure it would be news to her as well.

"We will broaden our perimeter to include the Swan residence." Sam suggested.

"Wait, does Bella know that she is being guarded around the clock?" I asked, knowing that someone needed to speak up for her while she was not able to speak up for herself.

No response was given. The silence was an answer enough. "Seeing as how she is unaware, why don't you all wait for her to come back from Florida first? I'm sure she won't object to the protection. She might even have a few ideas. But she does need to know about all of this. It isn't fair to her otherwise."

There was general agreement around the room, but only because no one could create a suitable argument against my statement. "Great," I clapped my hands together now that we had come to some sort of compromise. "So everyone abides by the treaty but leeway will be given with regards to the chasing of Victoria?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Anything else on the agenda?"

No one spoke up, except I could see Jacob trying to make eye contact with me in my peripheral vision. I looked towards him briefly. Without words, he conveyed his desire to speak to only me. In order for that to happen, I tried ending the group meeting.

"Seeing as how no one has anything further to add, I'd like to end this meeting so I can get Amy to bed." She almost objected, until I slid her a wink, hidden from everyone else's view. I wouldn't be sending her to bed for a few more hours if she didn't want to fall asleep. It was her first night as an imprint: I didn't want to end it now, separating her and Seth until tomorrow.

Nonetheless, everyone took the hint and started to break up the meeting. Jared, Quil, and Sam left quickly after saying goodbye to the crowd, wanting to get back to their imprints. Paul only left after I let him take a dozen cookies I had in the pantry. Embry kissed me on the cheek, leaving to go on patrol, saying he'd be back in two hours, missing me the entire time he was on patrol. My legs went weak at his words and I had to give him a few dozen kisses before he left.

The Cullens, Leah, Seth, and Jacob remained. Seth and Amy went into the living room to talk, with Lobo in between the couple, trying to defend his Amy. The image was rather heartwarming. Leah struck up a conversation with Carlisle and Esme. I could only hear snippets of the conversation, words like "genetics," "babies," and "check-up." I mentally sighed, happy that Leah had started to come to terms with who she was and wanted to take the next step in accepting her wolf genes. As the conversation continued, I heard Esme chime in that Leah was welcome to the Cullen home any time she needed anything. Leah said that was greatly appreciated and she would definitely stop by soon.

Another conversation in the room was between Jacob, Emmett, and Jasper. The topic of the discussion: basketball. _Would the sports ever end? _I asked myself. Then I thought, _Sure, the season always ends, but then another sport season begins. _If football isn't on, basketball is. I ignored that conversation and moved towards Rosalie and Alice. They were talking shopping, of course. I decided to join that conversation, finding the topic of discussion safer than basketball.

"I need a new pair of heels." Alice complained.

"You bought a pair two days ago," reminded Rosalie.

"But Emmett broke the heel on one when he and Jasper were wrestling in the living room. Emmett crushed the box and I hadn't even had to pleasure of wearing the shoes." Alice reasoned.

"I think you do need a new pair in that case. While, I don't need new shoes, I need new bras." I complained, feeling my growing breasts strained in the one I was currently wearing.

"What, do the ones you have now not 'work' for Embry?" Alice asked with air quotes on the work, implying that he didn't like the look.

"Oh, not at all. They 'work' fine for Embry. For me, not so much. They're just one cup size," _or two_, I mentally added, "small. It's broaching the point of painful to wear the small bras I have now. Embry just said ditch bras all together, that would be fine with him." I joked, repeating Embry's words verbatim.

"I bet he would. He and every other man on the planet would just love that. Hell, it'd be easier access. Am I right, or am I right?" Rosalie rhetorically asked, throwing her hands up in the air.

"You're preaching to the choir, sister. There were a few years when I was part of those feminist movements, back in the day, and I would go burn my bra with the girls. Jasper loved it cause I came home with nothing beneath my shirts." Alice smiled, reminiscing on the past.

"You think your man liked it. When I came home, Emmett was so giddy you'd think he was a virgin, teenage boy." Rosalie joked, throwing her head back with a laugh. We all did the same, picturing Emmett unable to control himself.

Just as our laughter started to get out of control, Jasper and Emmett came up behind their girls and wrapped their arms around their waists. Jacob came to stand by my side. "Now, who are you girls laughing at now?" Jasper asked.

That only made us laugh harder. The three of them continued to look at us with skepticism and just decided to dismiss our laughter as typical crazy female hormones.

"Don't worry about it, boys. You wouldn't _under_stand." I remarked with emphasis on the under, knowing that Rosalie and Alice would get it. They continued to giggle with me.

"She's right, you guys wouldn't _under_stand. So don't worry about it." Rosalie agreed, smiling at Emmett, realizing that he and Jasper wouldn't get the hidden meaning unless we said it directly.

"We should get these boys home before they start getting any ideas." Alice winked, foreseeing they would never guess. "Jasper and I will see you tomorrow, Abby." Alice reminded, hugging me goodbye before heading out the door with Jasper.

"Are you telling them tomorrow?" Rosalie asked, once Alice and Jasper were out of ear shot. I nodded in response, not knowing what to respond. "Good luck. I hope Alice doesn't blow a gasket trying to arrange a baby registry."

"Maybe it'll give her a distraction from graduation. Everyone knows Bella doesn't want a big celebration and I don't need one." I retorted.

"I doubt it. Alice can multitask pretty well. It's almost like she isn't even human." Emmett joked, trying to add a bit of his own humor.

"You're probably right." Rosalie responded, kissing her husband on the cheek. "Well, we're going to get out of your hair. See you soon." She hugged and kissed me goodbye, Emmett copying her movements. They walked out the door, heading home. Leah, Carlisle, and Esme all gave their goodbyes, as they walked out the front door, making their way to the Cullen home in order to continue their earlier conversation. I could still hear Seth and Amy talking quietly in the living room, and I knew they were alright.

Jacob and I moseyed our way to the kitchen. I sat down at a stool, resting my arms on the granite countertops of the bar. Jacob made two hot chocolates, one for me, one for him. He continued pacing on the opposite side of the island until he could find the right words to speak.

"What were Edward's intentions with taking Bella to Florida?" He started, staring me down for the truth.

"Frankly, I think there are a number of reasons. One, he wanted to get Bella away from Victoria, because the Cullens obviously knew about her approach ahead of time, due to Alice's visions. Second, he hopes that seeing her mom will cause her immediate desire to become a vampire to lessen -" and before I could finish my reasons, Jake interrupted with a question.

"Wait, the leech doesn't want Bella to turn into a vampire?" Jacob asked, incredulity spread all over his face.

"Not at all. To the best of my knowledge, that's the last thing Edward wants of Bella. She's the one insisting on a life together forever. He doesn't want to condemn her soul. He believes that vampires are doomed to end up in hell, if there is such a fate, and Bella believes wholly the other way. He'd rather spend a long happy life with her, and end his life after she dies, then to risk her soul at all." I stopped there, unable to explain their beliefs any more than I already had.

I shifted in my seat, lifting the warm mug of hot chocolate to my lips. Letting the chocolate warm me from the inside out, burning my throat on the way down just enough to make me sigh in contentment, I waited for Jake to respond.

"Why exactly did you guys go to Italy? I understand that it was to save him, but from what?" Jacob, along with most others who knew of the rescue mission, knew little of why we had to rescue Edward in the first place.

"You remember the day that Bella and I went cliff diving? Well, Edward was going to Italy to ask the Volturi, the bad vampires, to kill him. It's hard to kill a vampire, especially if you're trying to commit suicide because there are so few ways they can die. He knew that only the Volturi would actually kill him. However, he knew that the chances of them killing him were slim to none. They wanted to have him on their side, being that he would be a powerful asset. Nonetheless, Edward had a backup plan: expose himself to the humans. The biggest rule for vampires is not to be conspicuous. By exposing himself, the Volturi, who are kind of like the government for all intense and purposes, would have to rectify the situation by killing him, as is the traditional punishment. Edward was not killing himself out of guilt for not being with Bella, as she had thought. He wanted to kill himself because he couldn't imagine a life where she didn't exist."

"Then why did he leave her in the first place?" Jacob asked, seeing the idiocy in that train of thought.

"He left so that she could have a chance at a normal, happy, human life. I think he had actually hoped that you would end up together. He knew you could protect her if the need should arise. He tried to force Bella to accept the human life that she didn't, and still doesn't, want."

"Wow. I guess I owe the guy some credit. He really is selfless. And playing this game much better than I am, apparently." Jake rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and resignation.

"This isn't a game, so stop thinking that way. The two of you aren't competing for her affection. She loves Edward as a lifetime companion. She loves you as the brother she never had."

"It's not a competition because he's already won."

"Except, you are still competing. I don't mean for Bella. That's a lost battle." I sipped at my hot chocolate for a minute, trying to think of how to phrase my thoughts properly. Jacob needed to understand this. It would be harder for him to accept not having Bella then it would be to accept another woman. "I know you are probably tired of hearing this, but there are other fish in the sea. You're young, go explore a little. I realize that you have experienced more in your life than most people could ever dream of, but this is a whole other matter. The love of your life could be out there sipping a cup of Joe, out in Seattle, reading The Time Traveler's Wife, sitting in the nook of a coffee shop. Got out and live a little. You'll find her."

"But I already have. Bella is the one." He demanded, hearing my words but incapable of believing them.

"Don't give me that line of bull. Did I ever hear you tell me that you imprinted on Bella?" I asked, not needing an answer, already having one. I almost put my hand on my hip, but just arched my brow instead, giving him the look, daring him to challenge me.

"Well, no…" he admitted in barely a whisper.

"Wait, I don't think I heard you. Could you repeat yourself?" I asked, cupping my hand to my ear.

"No, I didn't imprint on Bella." He spoke, louder this time, hanging his head in shame.

"Come, again," I requested, having heard his words perfectly, but needing him to repeat them just for fun.

"No, I have not imprinted on Bella. Nor have I imprinted on anyone else." Jake repeated, much louder, with confirmation in his voice. He finally raised his head and looked at me with realization in his eyes.

"Did you honestly think that as one of the strongest members of the pack that you wouldn't imprint on anyone? Out of all people, you are most likely to imprint on someone, you just haven't found her yet. For all you know, she could still be an unborn baby. Stop fussing over Bella when she clearly is not the person you are meant to be with." I ended my rant, finishing the hot chocolate, which was now luke warm. I could see all of the chocolate remains on the bottom of the cup.

Jake considered my words as I slid out of the bar stool. I walked over to the sink and rinsed out the mug. Turning around, I leaned against the countertops and looked to Jake for some sign that my words had reached.

"I understand what you're saying. I'm not sure I am ready to accept it, yet. However, I am ready to start thinking about that possibility. It just… it hurts. Being with her, but not really being with her." Jake hung his head in defeat. I walked towards him with open arms. He accepted the gesture, embracing me in a hug. He didn't cry, because he was too much of a manly man for that: he did seem to let out a few shaky breaths, the closest he had ever come to crying in front of me. His face was leaning against the crook in my neck. It was an awkward hug, just because of his height and my lack of height, but we made it work, if only for his solace.

"It's okay. I know it hurts. I may not stop for a while, but it will stop. I promise." I rubbed soothing, circular patterns on his back, trying to comfort him. There really was no 'good' way to handle this. A love triangle could never be an easy fix. I may have passed geometry with flying colors, but I knew even triangles were complicated to deal with.

"I'll help you find her, Jake. I promised to find Leah's man. And now I am promising to find your woman, no matter how far away she is. Embry and I will help you find her. Sound good?" I asked, trying to lift his face in order to gauge his expression for confirmation.

He slowly raised his head, nodding his approval. "Thanks, Abby. I don't know what I would have done without you to talk to."

"I know. You all would have suffered a terrible fate worse than death. That's what would have happened if I weren't here." He seemed to smile at my humor, if only marginally. "I'm only kidding. You would have been fine, I'm sure." I spoke the words, but couldn't believe them truly. _Yeah right. None of these lunatics would have lasted five minutes without making a chaotic mess worse than the 405 freeway during rush-hour with a ten car pile-up. But no need to mention that to anyone._

"Go get some rest. You just haven't been sleeping enough. And come over tomorrow for dinner. You need to eat a proper meal. Billy can cook, but not during sport seasons. You're starting to look a little thin, Jake." I commented, clearly joking, because he and the boys always seemed to be hungry, but never without food.

Jake just chuckled, and replied. "There's always a sports season."

"My point exactly. Bring Billy over. In fact, just tell everyone to show up, imprints and wolves alike. The party ended too early tonight."

"Yeah, it did. I didn't even get to eat a second bowl of chili." Jacob's stomach growled, as if on command.

"There's more in the refrigerator if you want me to warm it up," I offered, already moving towards the fridge.

"I can warm it up myself." He insisted, beating me to the fridge. He quickly searched before pulling out a pot of chili.

I covered my mouth as a yawn escaped my lips. Apparently I wasn't the only one who needed sleep. "Hey, Jake, I'm going to go to bed. You're welcome to spend the night and sleep on the couch if you want, if Seth and Amy aren't still in there."

Jake listened for a minute, checking to see where they were. "They are in Amy's room. He's reading her Romeo and Juliet before she falls asleep. I don't think he wants to leave her, but I'll make sure he gets home to Sue, if he decides to go home."

"I'll invite him to spend the night, too. Undoubtedly, he doesn't want to leave Amy on their first night. But go ahead and eat your chili, I am heading to bed." I turned to leave the kitchen, dragging my feet.

"Hey, Abby," Jake called, causing me to turn my head and torso, to look at him. "Thanks for everything. The advice, chili, place to crash. Everything." The words held plenty of meaning, but what was more meaningful for me was the expression of gratefulness in Jacob's eyes. He hurt and wanted me to know that what I was doing for him helped.

"Anytime. I'll always be here if you need anyone to talk to. Promise. Or if you need a home cooked meal. Just stop by anytime." I smiled, sealing the promise.

"I'll definitely be holding you to that. 'Night, Abby."

"Goodnight, Jacob." I gave him a tiered wave and let my hand drop to the hand railing as I made my way up the stairs.

First stop, Amy's bedroom. The door was cracked open. I could not hear Romeo and Juliet being read, so I assumed that Seth had stopped reading, because Amy fell asleep. I pushed the door open and tip-toed inside. Seth sat in a chair next to Amy's bed, watching her sleep, holding the well-worn copy of Romeo and Juliet. Amy was tucked into bed, sleeping soundly.

I turned to Seth and motioned for him to follow me to the hall, not wanting to wake Amy up with our conversation. He wordlessly followed me.

Leaning against the wall for support, out of energy to even stay standing on my own, fully, I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned my head to face Seth, who stood nervously, not having had a conversation with me yet. His hands were hid in his pockets, showing his anxiety, but his courage caused his eyes to stare straight ahead and his expression to be devoid of fear. _Smart boy, fearing his imprint's closest relative, in control of who she can and cannot see, _I thought as I eyed him up and down, trying to intimidate him a little, just for fun.

Once I felt like he had sweat enough, I gave him some reassuring words, "Calm down, Seth. I'm not taking you away from Amy. I just wanted to ask if wanted to pull out the roll away mattress beneath Amy's bed."

"Really?" the skepticism was laced throughout his voice, as was the hopefulness.

"Of course. I'm not going to ask you to leave on your first night together. But I do ask that you keep it clean and respectable. You can't stay over every night, just on special occasions. We'll talk about the actual rules of my house later, but for now, just know that it needs to remain PG." I gave him a stern look, maintaining my authority, regardless of age.

"Of course, ma'am," he started, but I cut him off, before he could continue.

"First rule, don't call me ma'am. Call me Abby. I don't deserve to be a ma'am for at least another twenty five years."

That caused a grin to break out on his face. "Yes, Abby."

"The bed has clean sheets and has to be pulled up and locked if you want it be the same height as Amy's bed. Second rule, after each night you sleep over, it needs to go back under her bed. Third rule, no sharing beds. Only hand holding contact, and you both need to be tucked into your own beds. I do not mean just while she is a child, this rule applies until I say otherwise. Understood?" He nodded in compliance, realizing that what was being allowed was more than he could ever hope for. "And seeing as how you are still a minor, no matter how many adult situations you have had to deal with, you need to call your mother to let her know where you will be tonight and why. The phone is in the kitchen if you need to borrow it. Third rule, every night you stay over, both your mom and I need to know about it. Is that clear?"

"Of course. I would expect nothing less. In fact, I am grateful for you letting me to spend the night in the first place. So, thank you."

"You'll learn quickly that I am loose with what rules I make, but not strict on how you follow them. In other words, there aren't many rules, but the ones I do have need to be followed to the letter." He nodded, understanding my guidelines. "We will have breakfast in the morning, and if you get hungry in the night, there are leftovers in the fridge. You're welcome to anything, but whatever dishes you dirty, you clean. We'll talk about tomorrow's happenings, tomorrow morning at breakfast. Go call your mom. Jake's eating leftovers in the kitchen so if you want some, go ahead and make yourself a plate. I, myself, am going to bed." Backing off of the wall, no longer using it for support, I smiled at the thought of sleeping.

"Thanks, Abby. This is more than I could ever expect to want. Goodnight." He remarked, heading down the stairs.

"Goodnight, Seth." I replied, my feet padding across the floor, pulling me towards my queen sized bed.

I closed the door and quickly changed into a t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts. I slid into bed, and before I could sigh into the mattress, I was sound asleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Bunnies, Yum

Keeping It Together

_**Author's Note: I know I am a bad author. I haven't posted in a while and I apologize, especially to all of the people who keep up with the stories. I apologize. It's partial writers block, partial exhaustion, and partial trying to create a story that is completely original. But here you go. Oh, and I would like to give a shout out to my readers out in Australia! Didn't ever expect to have people reading my stories from different cities, let alone different continents. Thanks to everyone for reading and PLEASE leave comments. I want feedback to know if what I am writing is okay or not. Tell me what to add more of or what to take out. Thanks for reading! Enjoy. More to come soon.**_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Bunnies, Yum.**_

Embry and I woke up the next morning in each other's arms. All we could do is smile and kiss and not rip off our clothes that instant. We made it about two full seconds before tearing at the clothes covering our bodies. It was hurried and out-of-control, but that was what we both needed every time after near death experiences. Although Embry cannot help the fact that he is a wolf and needs to hunt vampires that threaten our existence, the separation in the time being does not help either of our worries. My worry that he could be injured, his worry that he wasn't around to protect me. On top of that worry, now we both fret over the baby, adding to the stress. What we both needed was a relaxed day, free of death threats and filled with love. There is no better remedy than a day of shopping for our baby.

A little bit later, we dressed in our pajamas that were lying on the floor, deciding that we both needed food, heading downstairs to feed ourselves. Jake, Seth, Amy, and Lobo were all awake, laughing in the kitchen. Jake and Seth were making pancakes as Amy, giggling at something Seth had said, sat on one of the barstools. Lobo sat next to Jake and Seth, hoping they would accidentally drop something.

Embry took a seat on one of the dining table chairs, opening his arms for me to slide in. I settled myself on his lap, facing the group making breakfast. The conversation continued and came to include us. Really, the conversation was just about last night, poking fun at how whipped Emmett was by Rosalie for risking his life so frivolously.

Serving the pancakes, the group sat at the table. The conversation shifted from last night to today. Seth, Amy, and Jacob all looked to me to see what today's plans were.

"Well, Jasper and Alice will be coming over in an hour to pick up Embry and me. The four of us are going shopping for maternity clothes, baby clothes, and baby furniture. I know that you certainly don't want to do that, so I am allowing you to have free rein. You two," I said referring to Seth and Amy, "are allowed to do just about anything as long as you stay within a mile of this house. Is that clear? No going to the beach, no hikes in the forest. Just stay close to the house. You're welcome to go to the Swan's, but that's it. People can come over, but only on the condition that you clear it through me first." Turning to Jacob, I continued speaking. "Of course, none of these rules apply to you. You are free to come and go as you please of course, but you're more than welcome to go shopping with us, after all, you are the baby's… wait, Embry, do you want to tell him?"I questioned, tilting my head back against Embry's chest, waiting for his response.

A smile appeared on his face at the mention of our plans for the baby. "I'd love to, babe." He chastely kissed my lips, with my head still tilted back, making it more of a Spiderman style kiss. He then threw Jake a knowing smile, waiting, building the anticipation. It took all of Jake's will power not to demand to know what Embry and I knew that he didn't; however, he sat there patiently for the news. He seemed so tense, leaning forward on the table waiting for what Embry had to say. "We'd like for you to be the baby's godfather. Would you?"

Jake just sat there for a minute in shock. I do not think that he imagined ever being anyone's godfather, especially this early in his lifetime. Granted, neither Embry nor I expected to be pregnant or engaged this early in life, either. However, once the initial shock wore off, Jacob's face was consumed by a grin a mile wide. He then realized that he hadn't actually accepted the role as our baby's godfather and then replied by saying, "there's nothing I want more than to be that baby's godfather." He pointed to my bulging belly, the smile still on his face. But then he comprehended what that job might entail and started posing questions. "Hold on a second, does this mean I have to start attending church?"

Embry and I looked at each other and started laughing. Some people had religious beliefs, but certainly not Embry, nor me. Otherwise, we would have waited until marriage to make love. Otherwise we wouldn't be having a child in October. "Jacob, have you ever known either of us to be church goers? We certainly wouldn't make you go to church just because you're the baby's godfather. In fact, we don't want you to teach the baby about religion or anything like that. In this instance, the term godfather is just another word for non-biological uncle."

Jake wiped his head across his forehead, feigning that he was worried enough to make him sweat. "Whew! Dodged that bullet. Non-biological uncle sounds much less threatening than godfather. In that case, I'd love to go shopping for junior's new stuff." Jacob leaned back in the seat, relaxed after a few tense moments. "This is going to be great. I can teach him football, and baseball, and hockey—"

"I didn't know that you knew how to play hockey." Seth remarked, looking at his idol in amazement.

"I don't, but I can learn. Besides it will be awhile before junior can ice-skate. And I can teach him how to fix cars and how to properly go cliff-diving." Jacob smiled at his plans for his unburned godson.

"Who says the baby's going to be a boy? No one has said that the baby is going to be a boy. In fact, I have a gut instinct that the baby will be a she. Definite gut instinct." Embry remarked, making it clear that if he had anything to say about it, the baby's gender would be female.

"Yeah, just like you had a gut instinct that you'd always be a bachelor?" Jacob retorted.

"No, that was just indigestion. This is a father's intuition at work here." Embry responded, rubbing the side of my stomach.

"It's called a mother's intuition when it comes to babies, and I do believe that Abby is the mother in the situation here." Seth pointed out the obvious and then everyone looked to me to see what the verdict was on the bay gender.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Just cause the baby is in me doesn't mean I have a better idea of what the gender is any more than Embry does. Although I do believe the baby will be a boy, I think that could be because Embry wants a girl. I know he would be perfectly happy either way, but he thinks that girls are easier to handle. And that can be true, but Embry," I tilted my head back again, bringing his face into view, "you will always want to guard her and protect her, where as a boy, you'll want to protect but you won't be afraid that a girl is going to break his heart. With a girl, you're going to be constantly guarding her from boys that could break her heart. Besides, if this one is a boy, we could always try again for a girl, if that will make you happy."

"You know I would be happy no matter what gender the baby is, but I just really feel that this boy is going to test me at every turn." Embry pushed a hand through his hair, taking his bangs off of his face.

"Believe me when I say that no matter whether the baby is a girl or a boy, when they get to the teenage years, they will test you at every turn." I smiled up at him knowing how far I had pushed my parents even when I turned thirteen.

"Don't forget, if it's a boy, you might have to deal with the possibility he could shift someday." Seth commented, bringing up a topic Embry and I hadn't really thought of before.

"Hold on a second, the same could be true if the baby is a girl, I mean look at Leah." I contradicted, bringing the room to silence. Apparently the majority of people still believed that Leah was a genetic mistake. "You all need to get it out of your heads that what happened to Leah was an accident. The pack has never had this many members before right?"

"The most number of wolves the pack has ever had at one time was five. But what does numbers have to do with anything?" Jacob questioned, diluted in his sexist thinking.

"If there are more people in a pack, the differences between members is going to become greater." They still looked dumbstruck, so I fished for another explanation. "The majority of the pack is fifteen years and older right? Except for Seth. He is younger than any member has ever been before, so that means it is in fact _possible _for someone to shift in the early teens, just not likely. The same works for gender, it is _possible _for a woman to be a werewolf, just not likely. For instance, just because a disease is more common in women than men, that doesn't mean you won't ever find a man with that disease, it just means it isn't likely and that it won't happen if you have a very small number of people that you know with that disease. You need more people to be able to find the anomalies."

"So what you're saying that the more people that shift, the more likely it will be that we will have a girl or someone younger?" Jake asked.

"It's just a theory, but it seems most likely. I mean Leah and Seth are in perfect health, so why would anyone consider what happened to them to be a genetic anomaly? Maybe it's more likely than you know." I responded, sipping at my mug that was starting to cool off considerably, taking my last bite of syrup drenched pancake. "Well, it's getting late, so I need to go get dressed for shopping." Excusing myself from the table, I washed my dishes and headed upstairs. Embry followed a bit later. I cleared out a drawer in my dresser for him, and part of my closet space. At first, he said he wouldn't need much because he could always run back to his house if he needed anything. His clothing had accumulated in my room over time, so I decided he needed a drawer and part of my closet for all of his clothing, even though he kept it very minimal. I dressed in panties, a matching bra that was way too small for my growing breasts, khakis that use to be too loose to fit, and a tank top, because it was starting to get warmer and it wasn't raining so hard today. Deciding that today was going to require a decent amount of walking, I pulled out a pair of socks and sneakers. My feet hadn't started swelling but it was only a matter of time. Throwing my hair into a pony tail, and brushing my teeth, I felt ready to go. Embry wore jeans faded in all the right places and a white t-shirt that was pretty loose, but still hugged his muscles just enough to make any girl's mouth water. Especially, the pregnant, hormonal, mother-of-his-child and fiancée.  
My desire was nearly palpable, but knowing we had Alice and Jasper coming over soon stopped me from jumping his bones right then and there. I told him so and he replied with a sigh of relief and the words, "I thought it was just me." He chastely kissed my lips, both cheeks, nose, and then forehead, trying to keep the hunger at bay.

We walked down stairs to find Alice and Jasper talking with Jacob in the living room.

Jacob looked to me and said, "Amy, Seth, and Lobo are playing on the swing set in the backyard. Well, Amy and Seth are playing while Lobo dances around at their feet. It is really a cute sight."

"Jake, I think you are becoming soft." Embry said in all seriousness. Being around a family like ours could do that to a guy.

"Yeah, whatever. So Alice and Jasper are ready to go. What about you two love birds?" Jake asked, pointedly looking at Embry, signaling he was not in any way growing soft.

"We're ready. But first we, Embry and I, wanted to tell you something kind of important."

And for the first time today Alice looked at my entire figure and gasped in shock.

"Oh my Dolce and Gabbana! You're pregnant?" Alice gasped again. She stood up from the couch to get a better look at me. "How could I not have noticed?"

"I've been covering it with plenty of sweaters and jackets this winter. And I haven't been showing noticeably until recently. You've never been pregnant, nor Rosalie, nor Esme—in the time that you've known her— so there is no reason you would recognize the signs. Besides, the important thing that you know now is to get me clothes that fit. Cause I haven't had time or energy to go shopping all the way in Seattle and you're so much better at shopping than I am." I remarked, noticing how even the bra I had on was restraining my breasts too much for it to be comfortable or appropriate.

Alice wrapped her arms around me, and if she could cry, she would have. It was one of those moments in life when you were suddenly over joyed with happiness it took all of your restraint to not let a tear slip from the joy. Still hugging me, she leaned back a bit, smiling at me. My stomach was still touching hers when the baby kicked. Alice jumped back in surprise, caught off guard by the occurrence, and looked to me for answers.

I grabbed her hand and placed it where the baby just kicked. It happened again, but this time Alice was ready for it. She smiled, feeling the baby kick against her palm. "Honey, come here." She waved with her other hand, not letting her eyes leave my belly. Jasper moved closer, letting Alice grab his hand and place it where hers had been a moment ago. Then the little guy kicked again and Jasper seemed to be in shock just as much as Alice had been. Focusing on the baby, he smiled as the baby kept kicking.

"He's happy," Jasper said, his eyes not leaving the spot where his hand rested.

"Wait, you can feel the baby's emotions?" Embry asked, thrown off by this new information.

"I have never been close enough to an unborn baby to try feeling his emotions. But it would appear that I can, and that the little guy in there could not be more content." He smiled, letting his hand drift away.

"Hold on a second. You just said 'little guy'. Does that mean the baby is a boy?" I wondered aloud, not really knowing if what I was hearing was true. Could this little thing growing inside of me really be a boy?

"Oh, I am sorry to have misled you with my poor choice of words, but I cannot tell by emotions whether or not the baby's gender is male or female. Sorry to disappoint you, Abby." Jasper responded, knowing I felt a bit dejected at realizing what I had just heard was not exactly true, that the baby's gender was still unknown.

Jasper had known what I was feeling so he himself felt badly for creating a sense of hope, only then to deny it. "It's perfectly alright, Jasper. I knew that we were not going to know the baby's gender for a bit longer, I was just hoping."

"Well, let's get going. We want to hit the shops before everyone else does." Jake suggested, eager to get on the road. We all walked outside and saw the Volvo parked on the street.

Alice offered the explanation. "It's the only car we have that fits five but has enough room in the trunk for all of our shopping bags. It is also less conspicuous. Edward is letting us borrow it for the day."

"Shot-gun!" Jake shouted, and ran for the passenger seat. Jasper was driving today, so that left the back seat for Alice, Embry, and me. Alice and I chatted for the extensive car ride about what we needed to buy today. Our list included bras, panties, jeans, shirts, dresses, jackets, shorts, and skirts. Alice mentioned that I would also need a dress for the graduation party she was hosting. "Alice, this is going to be crazy. How are we going to find a whole new wardrobe for me in one day?"

"I have a feeling we will get it done with plenty of time to spare. Maybe we can go to Babies R Us and start a baby register." Alice remarked, not knowing the definite future, but having a gut instinct.

"With your help, this will go by much faster than I could have ever hoped for." I remarked, sighing further into Embry's side, at peace with the long drive to Seattle. And then all of the sudden it was over. Jasper really did drive too fast. Well I guess the more proper phrase would be that he drove like a Cullen.

Our group of five ventured into a Seattle mall. Alice and I made a beeline for the maternity stores and the boys obediently followed. Alice seemed to be much slower today than she normally was when it came to shopping.

"Alice, are you feeling alright? You're not up to your normal speed by now." I remarked, shuffling through the clothes on a rack.

"I don't have my vision with the wolves around, so I have to do this the human way, which I have never done before." She replied, solemnly, moving to another rack of clothes. "I understand that it's not their fault. But it makes this all so much harder." She said to herself, probably not realizing she had said those last two sentences aloud.

I turned to Embry, who stood there with Jake and Jasper, talking about sports. I came up in front of Embry and wrapped my arms around his neck, interrupting their conversation, not really caring.

"Baby, I love you, and love when you spend time with me. But being in this store has to be killing you. Would you mind going shopping at other stores with the boys?" I asked, trying not to hurt his feelings, but wanting desperately for him to leave so that Alice could get her mojo on.

"If you're sure, then we could go to a sporting goods store or something." Embry offered.

"I'm sure. Besides, Alice and I will get a lot more done if we don't have to worry about you guys over hearing about…. woman stuff." With those two words, the boys nearly ran out of the store, but not before Embry gave me a kiss on the cheek and a promise to meet at the food court in three hours.

Smiling at my triumph, I went to go find Alice. She was in the back of the store, with her arms already full of clothing. She started moving towards the cash register and dropped everything on the counter, surprising the employee with her large purchase. I moved to Alice's side and smiled, pulling out my wallet. Alice beat me to it, handing the employee her credit card before I could even protest.

"It'll be my treat. Think of this as a gift for not having been around for those few months at the beginning of the school year." Alice smiled, making conversation with me, as the cashier slowly loaded two bags with maternity blouses, tank tops, shirts, pants, shorts, and skirts.

"Alice, you know I never held that against you. You don't owe me anything."

"I know. That is just my excuse so you let me buy clothes for you today." She winked at me, throwing a knowing glance my way, knowing I was the reason the boys were nowhere in sight.

The cashier handed us the two bags after charging the card. We left the store when a curious thought popped into my head. "Alice, what if these clothes don't fit right, or if they hang on my frame poorly. Shouldn't I have at least tried them on?"

"Having my vision back, I could pick out the clothes and _saw_ you standing in the dressing room trying them on. I knew which ones would fit and look fabulously on you and which ones wouldn't. This is going to be a breeze now that the boys are gone." Alice remarked, heading into Victoria's Secret. Alice picked out new bras and matching panties, purchased them, and was walking out the store with me in less than twenty minutes. The woman was a miracle worker and needed to be admitted into sainthood.

We moved to a different store that sold formal clothing and Alice was able to pick out a dress that had enough material at the waist that no matter how big I grew in the next few months, it would simply flow over my belly. The material was a baby blue and reminded me of having a baby shower.

I mentioned to Alice that I would need to have one in a few months. Talking about a baby shower got her thinking; I could practically see the wheels turning in her brain. She would plan the entire event and that was fine with me. This was painting season and I had work to do. I needed to get at least forty paintings done before the baby arrived and this was the perfect season for it. Spring brought out colors that fit perfectly into the paintings I loved portraying.

While my brain was off in a different land thinking about work, Alice said, "I've got it!"

It brought my brain to a halt, and I responded by saying, "got what, Alice?"

"I have an idea, and it may not work, but you need to just trust me and try this. I want you to plan on having a baby shower but not inviting Leah." Alice suggested, wanting to test some crazy theory.

"But of course I am going to invite Leah, why would you suggest such a thing?"

"I just need you to decide in this instant to not invite her. Trust me." She pleaded.

So I thought hard about having a baby shower at my house with all of my best girl friends but no Leah. After a minute or so, Alice exclaimed that it worked. When I asked what, she said that she saw the baby shower and all of the decorations.

"Why does that matter, Alice? Who cares if you know what the decorations look like now? You'll probably be the one to pick them out and hang them." I was extremely curious to see where she was taking this.

"It matters because the decorations are going to be colored to match the gender of the baby, and I know now what the gender of the baby is." Alice replied, suddenly giddier than before, if that were even possible.

"Wait! Don't tell me. Embry and I wanted to find out together. I don't want to know yet." I insisted, moving to cover my ears.

"It is okay, Abby. I know, and I won't tell you. However, I needed to test out this theory with only you around to be able to make the decision and start my vision. Of course Leah will be invited to the shower; I just needed to have the wolves out of the way for the vision to work. This is perfect. Now that I know, I can start planning everything." Alice practically skipped away from me, moving to buy matching silver shoes for the dress, purchasing them before I could even respond.

I could only imagine what Alice needed to start planning now. Knowing her she would throw me three baby showers just so she could have the excuse to host that many parties and participate in that much shopping. Speaking of shopping, now that we had bought nearly every type of clothing I would need from now until the end of the pregnancy—excluding outfits for extravaganzas that had yet to be planned— we went off in search of the boys. We passed by a baby clothing store and I asked Alice if we could take a peek. She nodded the go ahead and we ventured in. My fingers trailed across the soft fabrics of onesies. I lifted up a blanket soft enough to be made of clouds. My eyes gazed upon the baby booties that seemed to big. _How could the tiny little thing inside of me be big enough to wear clothing this big in less than a year?_ It all seemed so surreal, and then not. The baby boutique brought all of this to reality, but then caused me to believe that this couldn't all be happening. _How could a newborn fit into a piece of clothing that big? _

Turning to Alice, having accepted that this was in fact going to happen, I felt ready to leave the store. For a quick moment, I saw a flash of emotion across her face that I had rarely seen on her. Sadness. In that moment I felt pity for Alice, Esme, and Rosalie. They would never know the joy of being pregnant. Esme had known it once before, and maybe that was why she was the most forlorn out of all of them when it came to babies. Regardless, seeing me pregnant could not help ease their depression over the subject.

I walked towards Alice and simply hugged her. There were aspects of life that could not be changed. Alice certainly knew this more than most, accepting that quickly, deciding to focus on the happier moments in life.

She squeezed me tight, ending the hug. Our journey continued to the food-court, where we texted the boys to meet us. Then all of the sudden, I had to pee. Not my body telling me it could wait ten minutes, but now. Handing Alice the bags, I said the word "bathroom" and she understood. I nearly ran to the nearest woman's restroom. But in my effort to get there, I bumped into this poor man who was coming out of the men's restroom across from the woman's restroom. We barely nudged each other but it was enough to send me stumbling. But he had fast reflexes and caught my arms, stabilizing me, preventing me from colliding into the wall. He smiled my way, apologized, and kept on walking.

Thinking nothing of it, I went to relieve my bladder with a mind of its own. I barely made it, but I made it. _Boy that was a close one. _How embarrassing would it be to have to go to a store and buy a new pair of pants because I sprung a leak in the pair I wore? I was a grown woman who had troubles making it to the bathroom in time to relieve herself. This pregnancy was getting a little ridiculous on my bladder. Continuing to think about post-bathroom relief, I walked to the table where everyone was sitting, and wrapped my arms around Embry. He immediately stilled, as did everyone else. Clearly, they knew it was me, so what was the problem?

"Honey, why do you smell like vampire?" Embry asked, turning around to face me.

"I have been shopping with Alice all day." I commented, thinking that was a stupid question to ask, when he was sitting with two vampires.

"Abby, you don't smell like Jasper or Alice. Or any of the other Cullens." Jake's words sent my mind reeling back into who I could have been near recently, where there scent could have rubbed off on me.

"You didn't smell like that before going to the restroom." Alice's worried tone and comment brought panic to the forefront of everyone's emotions. Nonetheless, her words helped rack my brain for ideas.

It clicked like an old fashioned, film camera. "Oh, there was this man I collided with as I was walking down the hall to the bathroom. But there was no way he could have been a vampire. Could he?"

And then a scream erupted from behind us, sounding feminine and terrifying. Like a good horror movie. We would have jumped into action, knowing that whatever scared that woman to death had to be related to a dead body, but Alice told us to wait. Once her vision finished she said, "We need to get out of here. I'll explain on the way."

We were in the car heading back to Forks before you could say autopsy. Alice explained that a woman had been left in the men's restroom, drained of blood, with bite marks covering her body. A female janitor staff was cleaning the bathroom when she found the body. Clearly, the vampire who had brushed against me was the same who left the woman indisposed.

"Abby, you need to recall everything you can about this guy. We need some way to be able to identify him." Jasper commanded, asking for information as he sped down the freeway.

I searched my brain but could remember very little. "To be honest, I wasn't paying too much attention because my need to use the facilities was most important at the time. He was Caucasian, dirty blonde, and he had good reflexes."

"What do you mean?" Jake questioned.

"If I had been paying attention, I should have known he wasn't human. When we collided as he came out of the restroom—in a hurry I might add—he nearly knocked me into the wall, but he caught me, made sure I was stable, apologized and left. His eyes weren't red though, they weren't gold either."

"He must have been wearing contacts." Alice's added bonus of information aided my confusion.

"Probably, but to be honest, he seemed to be a pretty average guy. If I saw him in a line up, I doubt I would be able to pick him out." I admitted, hating the feeling of not being able to help.

"Maybe he has a gift." Jasper spoke the comment aloud, speaking more to himself than to the rest of the car.

"What are you talking about, Jasper?" Embry's irritation finally burst; he felt useless, having not been there to defend me.

"It's okay, baby." I rubbed circles into his palm with my fingers, whispering the words into his ear. "We're safe now."

Embry let out a calming breath, squeezing my hand for reassurance, kissing my forehead, needing to feel that I was still with him, the supporting word not enough.

"I meant that his gift could be why Abby doesn't remember specifics about him. He could either have the power to blend into his surroundings, or tweak people's memories so they can't remember him specifically, or I am just reading too much into this." He admitted, pushing his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Jasper, the more we speculate the better off we will be. If we can prepare ourselves for all of the possibilities against a new vampire in town, the safer we will be." My words seemed to bring a realistic perspective to the situation.

"We need to call a meeting. You could have been hurt today." Embry commanded, rather than suggested. His thoughts and mine were following the same track. _I could have been the girl in the bathroom._

I kissed his hand, intertwined with mine. "Embry, I am fine. The baby is fine. And another meeting wouldn't be bad, except not much more can be done until Bella comes back with Edward. They are just as much a part of this as the rest of us. However, I did say that the party last night ended too early. We could have everyone come over for a little more food and then at the very end, once Charlie has left, we can talk about today's events with everyone. Besides, I do believe I promised the boys more food."

Everyone's spirits lifted a little at the thoughts my words brought to mind; and yet, we all continued to contemplate what had happened at the mall today. We were home in a flash. The five of us brought all the purchases inside. Wanting to change out of my unfitting clothes immediately, I grabbed the bags holding bras, panties, and maxi dresses, and then dashed upstairs.

After all the price tags had been cutoff, I slipped into the clothing, relieved that I could look attractive again, even though I was so pregnant. Embry and Alice brought up the rest of the clothes and set them on the bed. Deciding that I would deal with the purchases later, I went downstairs to start cooking. Seth and Amy were playing fetch with Lobo in the backyard. Jasper called the rest of the Cullens to tell them about the dinner plans for tonight while Jacob did the same for the La Push pack. Embry walked over to the Swan's to tell Billy and Charlie that they were invited for some grub too. Alice and I started cooking. Even though the scent displeased Alice, she fought through the disgust anyway. She cooked the beef with seasoning, onions, water, and oil to create the meat portion of the taco salad. I started chopping up vegetables: ripe tomatoes; red, yellow, and green bell peppers; three heads of lettuce; ice-cold cucumbers; shreds of carrots; and chunks of California grown avocados. I also shredded a block of sharp cheddar cheese. I set a mix of this all back in the refrigerator, moving on to cook some beans. Alice set the meat to warm on the stove and backed away, having enough of the human food, not wanting to spend more time with it than necessary.

The boys—with the exception of Billy and Charlie, who were just showing up for the actual meal in a few hours—moved to playing football in the backyard as more and more people arrived. The girls stayed in the kitchen to talk gossip. It was an ancient ritual that continued on in to modern times just because genders went with their own, separating off into male and female. I brought out one pitcher of lemonade and one pitcher of iced tea. The girls moved to the backyard, in order to watch our shirtless men play tackle football. We were entitled to stare, they were _our_ men after all. Amy came skipping up the stairs from the backyard. She sat on my lap as she watched Seth play with the other boys. We all cheered our men on, being completely biased. The boys even tried to show off a little bit, not that we would know the difference because few of us ever watched football. At "halftime", when the guys decided they needed a break, the girls poured their men some lemonade, while Amy and I went back inside to bring out the extra batches of chocolate chip cookies. A classic never fails.

Of course the vampire boys weren't eating the cookies or drinking lemonade, but they were certainly taking a break. Being pinned against someone of equivalent strength, when you are used to being the toughest of the tough, can be exhausting. The wolves seemed tiered too; however, they still jumped at the smell of fresh, warm, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip cookies.

After the cookies had been devoured, the game continued. This went on for a few hours until it was nearly too dark to play and everyone seemed to jump at the word "food," excluding the vampires of course. I headed to the kitchen with Leah and Emily at my side. They helped mix all of the vegetables, beans, and meat. Then it was time for my special additions. Thousand Island dressing and Fritos. It scared Leah and Emily at first, but when I insisted, they stood aside and let me add the last ingredients. People seemed skeptical of the twisted taco salad at first, but Paul jumped in, trusting my cooking abilities, having faith it would taste fine.

Everyone soon followed, ready to try the oddity. The group was pleasantly surprised to find that the Fritos added a pleasurable, salty crunch, while the Thousand Island dressing gave the salad an extra little zing. Charlie was the only one not surprised, having had the salad once before. This little batch was actually a family recipe that my grandmother had made for Charlie and my mom when they were kids. He gave me a knowing look, with warmth in his eyes. Everyone needs to be reminded of the good, innocent memories of youth.

Charlie and Billy finished the food and left, thanking me for the meal, saying they were sorry to leave but wanted to get back for the other game. Then the conversation moved to today's events at the mall. The new clothes we bought were not the topic of discussion.

Jacob started off by saying, "a new bloodsucker is running amuck in Seattle, and not the warm and fuzzy, I-eat-bunnies kind of vampire either. The human killing kind."


	8. Chapter 8: Unplanned

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Unplanned**_

"A new bloodsucker is running amuck in Seattle, and not the warm and fuzzy, I-eat-bunnies kind of vampire either. The human killing kind." Jacob smiled at his joke.

I leaned back in Embry's arms, intertwining his fingers with mine. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Jacob. Now let's get down to business."

"To defeat the Huns." Emmett and Jasper whispered, high-fiving at the opposite end of the table.

Rosalie and Alice each smacked their spouses on the head, before apologizing on their behalf.

"That's alright. It's nice to know they're keeping up on their Disney movies. The real reason for this meeting is to discuss the vampire in Seattle. I ran into him on my way to the bathroom. Shortly after, a woman was discovered drained in the mall's bathroom." I shuddered, remembering how close I came to him.

"That's a bad sign." Jasper commented, pushing his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Care to tell us why?" asked Paul, the ever irritable.

Jasper remained calm, addressing the whole group. "It's bad because if he is comfortable enough around humans to leave the body lying around in such a public setting, it means he is reckless and either doesn't know the rules or doesn't care. It also tells us that he can't control his bloodlust if he has to hunt in such a public setting."

"In other words, he is bringing enough attention to vampires and Seattle that the Volturi will have to step in soon." Carlisle voiced his concern.

"Chances are they'll stop by to see if Bella is still human, while they're here." Emmett added his commentary, feeling the need to add the importance to the discussion.

"So what do we do about this vampire?" Sam asked, wondering what steps to take in eliminating this threat.

"Let's just go to Seattle and take him down." Jared offered, already standing up to go.

"There are at least three reasons I can think of why doing that would be a bad idea." I objected, causing him to ease back into his seat.

"Firstly, if he isn't the only one, we run the risk of hurting other people, trying to take them down. Secondly, if he is part of a coven or has a mate, they might come after us for revenge just as Victoria is doing to Bella, now. Thirdly, what if he is working with Victoria? Then this whole thing is much bigger than we originally thought." I listed each reason, counting them off on my fingers.

"Man, this is a seriously messed-up situation. It would be a lot easier if we could just go take him down." Paul's blood-lust was showing.

"For the meantime, we just need to let it play out. At least until it escalates to the point where Victoria shows herself again or it makes the news again. Frankly, I don't think it's a coincidence that Victoria showing up at the border and a vampire popping up in Seattle is unrelated. I don't see anything going terribly wrong in our immediate future. I think it would be best to just let this play out for a few more weeks." Alice spoke for the first time, expressing her valuable insight into the future. Our future.

"I agree. The worst that could happen is he comes to Forks and we have to take him down here." I sided with Alice, nodding in approval. "Well, not 'we,' more like the vampires and werewolves in the room."

"Okay, so it's decided that we wait until the situation escalates. I can't say I am comfortable with waiting for something worse to happen, but that sounds like our only option at this point. And what do we do about the red head?" Sam questioned, needing something to move forward.

"We are still waiting for Edward and Bella to come back before we talk about improving security at her house, or anything remotely close to that. Why don't we plan to meet here, next Friday, for another meeting?" I offered.

"As long as you're cooking, I'll be here." Jared hollered, and all the omnivores in the room quickly agreed with that statement.

The group agreed to meet at my house on Friday for another meeting. Slowly people started to leave, but only after a game of glow-in-the-dark ultimate Frisbee. I am still not sure who exactly won, but to this day, neither side admits defeat.

At school on Monday, Bella and Edward pulled up to school in his Volvo. I stood with Alice and Jasper, waiting for them to walk over. Just before they reached us, I asked Alice, "has he told her yet?"

"No," she whispered, under her breath.

"Is this going to all go to hell?"

"Probably." She replied, her psychic senses telling her what to do.

"Fan–fricking –tastic." I said sarcastically, causing Jasper to chuckle, just as Edward and Bella came into the circle.

"What's fantastic?" Bella asked, her hand intertwined with Edward's.

"Your boyfriend still hasn't told you that he took you to Florida to keep you away from Victoria while she danced along the border between the reservation and the Cullen's territory. Emmett and Paul had a disagreement, because Emmett crossed the border, trying to chase Victoria. The little dispute was resolved. There was a meeting at my house regarding Victoria, but I said nothing could be done until you came home. Then there was a vampire at the mall who nocked against me, while I was heading to the bathroom. Coincidentally, he had just drained and left a body to be discovered in the mall. And then another meeting was held to deal with that, but we decided not much can be done until we know more about this vampire and his intentions. That about sums it up. And Alice helped me shop for maternity clothes. But enough about me, how are your mom and Phil? Was the weather warm in Florida?"

"When you asked if this was going to hell, let me tell you it just got there." Jasper whispered to me, laughing at the situation.

Bella looked astonished. She looked like she would smack him, but didn't. He looked like he deserved it. They both seemed hurt: him because he had hurt her, her because he had lied to her.

Then the argument ensued. "How could you not tell me? What if something bad had happened to anyone while I was gone? What if Victoria hurt someone? It would have been all my fault and I would feel nothing but guilt. How could you?"

"I needed to keep you safe. Victoria is only after you, not Abby, not Alice, not Amy, not Jacob. No one else but you. Everyone else knew what they were risking when they were running after Victoria. I needed you to be safe."

"You could have told me that we were going to Florida to avoid Victoria." Bella objected.

"You wouldn't have left. Come on, help me out, Abby. Would she have honestly gone to Florida if she had known?" Edward asked, turning away from Bella for the first time since their argument started.

I looked at Bella, and saw the hurt in her eyes, she felt betrayed for being lied to, "Bella, you're too stubborn, you would have stayed here. Edward is right, telling you would have made you turn around and come back to Forks. He was just trying to keep you safe. Edward, you need to be honest with her from now on though, and keep her in Forks. There is more protection for her here than there is anywhere else. You can't even walk outside in Florida to protect her. At least here she has seven vampires, eight werewolves, a dad with a gun, and a hormonal, pregnant cousin to watch after her. You would think after the whole Italy ordeal, you two would be better at your communication skills." They both marginally flinched at the mention of Italy.

Edward turned to Bella and said, "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."

"Nothing will as long as everyone works together, including you and me. But don't think you're fully forgiven. I want a full-update on what happened this weekend." Bella reprimanded, after kissing him on the lips.

The bell started ringing, telling us we had five minutes to get to class. We all slowly started walking until I realized that there was no way I could hold my bladder from bursting for the next hour. I gave my excuses and detoured for the restroom. Alice had my exact schedule now, so she promised to give my excuses to our eccentric art teacher, Cora. After the Cullens came back to Forks, Alice decided that her schedule should be rearranged to fit mine, wanting to talk more often than we usually had the chance to. We sat next together in each period, rarely listening to lecture, her brain already possessing all of the knowledge with her vampire senses, my brain already possessing the knowledge because I exceled in my particular classes. Our conversations mostly consisted of my pregnancy now that she had full knowledge of it.

Alice wanted to know what the plans were regarding my marriage to Embry. It was no secret among the wolves and vampires that Embry and I were engaged to be married. It's just too hard to keep secrets with thought-sharing wolves, a mind-reader, a psychic, and an empath. Today's conversation consisted of me recounting the proposal.

Today was a normal Saturday for the most part. Emmett and Rosalie were watching Amy while Embry was taking me on a date. Not a usual date for most people, but we weren't most people and this was a usual date for us. Sort of. We started hiking in the woods, until we were a safe enough distance away from other people so Embry could phase. Once I had his clothes in my backpack, I hooked a leg over his back and hoisted myself onto his crouched body. After I settled in, Embry took off, racing to our favorite spot. This was the same spot where Embry first told me he loved me.

Ever since then we made it a point to revisit that spot on a regular basis. It was a cave hidden on the side of a cliff, with the view of the waves crashing against the rocks. A trail could be taken to get down to the cave, but no one ever used it except for us—the cave's location was too secluded for any human to cross upon it accidentally. Once inside, Embry let me slide of his back. As he phased and redressed, I started a fire to cook our food over. Dinner: hotdogs, s'mores, and hot chocolate. We lounged against a rock couch of sorts that Embry had made a few visits ago. Just as the sun crept into the ocean, Embry pulled something out of his pocket. I wouldn't have noticed, except he had to wiggle his legs to get the velvet box out of his jeans. I wasn't even paying attention to what he was doing, my eyes too focused on the sunset.

He whispered into my ear, "I realize that we're probably too young for this, but I want to be joined with you every way possible. We have already talked about being together for the rest of our lives, but I would like to make it official. Abigail Emory Caldwell, will you do me the honor of being my wife, as long as we both shall live?" His fingers popped open the box to reveal a gold wedding band with diamonds placed all along the band. I just nodded, finding myself speechless for once in my lifetime.

He slipped the ring out of the box and slid it onto my left ring finger. Perfect fit. A tension I hadn't noticed before seemed to leave his shoulders the second the ring was safely on my finger. _Did he honestly think I would say no?_ I guess there is always that doubt until something like a ring guarantees it.

"You know you didn't have to get me such an extravagant ring. Don't miss understand me. I love it, but the ring couldn't have been cheap." How long had he saved that money, only to spend it all in one swoop?

"I wanted to buy you the ring, to claim you as mine. I have been saving that money for a good reason to spend it, and I can't think of a better way, than to spend it on the woman I love." He kissed my forehead, and then moved to my nose, cheeks, ears, neck, saving my lips for last.

When he broke away from the kiss he reminded me of another reason why buying the ring made sense to him. "You've also been cooking me meals, letting me sleep in your house, use your toothpaste. The least I could do is pamper you a little with a decent engagement ring."

I smiled, thinking of how we already shared everything. Toothpaste, meals, showers, sheets. We had become quite domestic without even meaning to do so. "You do know that I am going to have to wear the ring on my right hand until May, when we formally announce the wedding and pregnancy?"

"I know, but you and I will know what the ring means, and that's all that matters. You and me." We continued to kiss, deciding clothes were unnecessary, needing to be _warmer_ on this chilly night. In the cave, we slept on the picnic blanket Embry thought to pack. My body curved with his as we woke to the rising sun, reflecting off of the ocean water. I stretched like a cat after a good night's sleep, snuggling back into Embry's warm chest, searching for heat. He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around me, tightening his hold on me physically and emotionally.

"Thank you." He whispered, and if it hadn't been dead silent, I would have not heard it.

"For what?" I mumbled into his chest.

"For saying yes." He mumbled back.

I titled my head backwards so he could hear me clearly. "Embry Call, if you doubted for one moment that I would say no, you need to be admitted to the closest insane asylum. I love you, and nothing could ever change that. Now help me warm up, my back is cold." He rolled us so that he was on top of me and my back pressed into the blanket. He placed all of his weight on his hands and knees, but covered my body with his, ensuring that I would warm back up, quickly. Believe me when I say, I helped warm him up too.

Alice smiled at the conclusion of my recounting of Embry's proposal. "You guys are almost as bad as Rosalie and Emmett."

"Thanks, I guess. Should I be taking that as a complement? Or should I be offended?"

"Take it as a complement. To even be compared to Emmett and Rose with regards to their _love_ life is unheard of but you and Embry seem to be copulating just as often."

"Well, thanks then. But what else do you want to know about our engagement, exactly?" I continued to paint as I waited for Alice's answer. That little pixy had a plan forming and I wish I knew what it was. However, I would only know if she wanted me to know. It appeared that she wanted me to know, because she started spilling her guts.

"I haven't had any visions of the wedding yet, but I was wondering what you had in mind for the actual event." Her words were carefully phrased, intrusive—just the way I liked them.

"We were going to marry during the summer, before the baby comes, and before I am so pregnant I can't even enjoy a three hour wedding. Why, Alice? What are you thinking in that pixy brain of yours?"

Her hands fidgeted with her paint brush, twirling it around between her fingers. "Can I…. would you and Embry want me…. Is it alright with the two of you if I planned your wedding?"

I sat facing my painting, but slid her a look out of the corner of my eye. "I thought you already were?" Of course, she had yet to be notified that she was the wedding planner. Embry and I just thought it would be fun to see how long it would take Alice to bring up the topic in conversation.

"Really?" Her meek voice asked, not sure of my words at all.

"Of course! Who else has enough time on their hands to plan a wedding with all of the nuances in under two months? Besides, you're the best of the best at throwing parties right?" I winked at her, letting her know that she was guaranteed to be our wedding planner.

She started squealing, "I am so excited. If I can't start planning Bella and Edward's, at least I can work on yours. We should meet-"

I had to interrupt her after making a comment like that one. "What? They're getting married?"

"Well, not yet. Don't tell anyone, but I think it's inevitable. In the meantime, I can work on your wedding. So how involved do you want to be? Do you want to be there for every step? Do both of you want to be making decisions? Or do you want to leave it all to me?"

"Embry and I have already discussed a few of the larger wedding decisions, but from there on, we will let you do a decent amount of the planning. There are a few rules that cannot be broken. First, the wedding invitations cannot be sent until we formally announce the pregnancy, in May."

"Deal. I assumed that would be a stipulation. You don't want to announce one without the other and you don't want to announce one until you are far into the pregnancy. Second rule?" She asked, saying the words as if she was taking notes.

"We must approve the wedding guest list. Most of Embry's side will be people from the reservation and my side will be your family, my family, and people from school, work, and California. We want to keep the ceremony and the reception intimate so we don't want to have too big of a guest list. If you want to come over today, Embry and I can list off the people we would like to invite."

"No problem. Can I bring Jasper? He wants to see Amy."

"Absolutely! You know you are both more than welcome to come over anytime. And I guess you will be coming over a lot more now to plan the wedding. And I thought that you already came over all of the time."

"It's still not enough." Alice remarked, continuing to add pink brush strokes to her painting. "What are your other rules?"

"The last few are closer to requests with regards to venue and wedding party. We were hoping that we could have the ceremony on the La Push Beach, where we met. We would like to have the ceremony at sunset, because neither of us want to have a morning ceremony. As for the treaty, Embry said he would talk to Sam in the next few days to try and manage that. Vampires won't be allowed to come on to the beach until right before the ceremony with the exception of you, to set up the ceremony. We've already haggled the help of the wolves to set up the ceremony, so you'll have all the hands you could need. Would that be doable?"

Alice simply nodded her head in response, and motioned her hand for me to continue. "We have the wedding party figured out, Embry just has to ask Jacob and Quil to be his best men, and I have to ask Amy to be our flower girl. I also have to ask my bridesmaids if they'll be in the wedding." Not looking at Alice, I toyed with her a little bit more. She was on the edge of her seat, waiting for my response. _Should I keep her in suspense longer, just for fun?_ Probably not. Who knows what could happen when a vampire like Alice Cullen doesn't get what she wants? "Do you think that Bella and Rosalie will be okay walking down the aisle on the arms of Quil and Jacob? I know Bella probably would not mind, but do you think Rosalie would be able to make it down without calling him a dog? Oh, and then there's the problem of my maid of honor. Do you think you could manage the wedding and still have enough time to slip into a dress before the ceremony starts?"

She was stunned, speechless. When I mentioned that Rosalie and Bella would be my bridesmaids, the disappointment on her face was heartbreaking. However, the second the words "maid of honor" left my mouth, Alice's excitement would have shot her through the roof if it were not for the fact that she was still shocked beyond imagination. Playing with her emotions was a cruel thing to do, but if you cannot toy with your best friend's emotions, whose emotions can you mess with?

She still was sitting in her seat, not moving an inch. _Could vampires go into shock?_ "Alice? Earth to Alice? Do you think you can manage all of that?"

She started to come out of her daze, and realized that I still needed her reply. "Of course, I can manage all of that. But—I was just thinking—we are wasting time at school. We should leave now and we can still have enough time to go work on a wedding dress, and with the time constraint, it might be tough, but I am sure I could still fly in your dress with enough time to make alterations."

Before I could formulate a response, Alice was already packing up her art supplies. "What do you mean fly in my dress? And stop packing your art supplies away. I have no homework today and Jasper will be spending time with Amy, so I am obligation free. As is Embry, so we can get a good start on wedding plans today, after we finish school."

She was still packing up her art supplies and I said the one thing that would make her stop. "If you don't want to sit down and act like a normal person, I guess I will just have to tell Rosalie instead."

Alice froze and contorted her head so that she could make eye contact while still facing her painting. "What are you going to tell Rosalie instead of me?"

"Oh, nothing. I am sure you are not very interested in what I want the wedding gown to look like. Rosalie will have more interest in that, I am sure." Another brush stroke or two to complete the painting.

A minute of pause followed by resignation. With a humph, she sat back on her stool, facing me, not even pretending to continue her art work. "Please, tell me. I promise I will not fly in your wedding dress from Paris, and will just design it here in Forks, if you just tell me what you want. Please. Not being able to see the future because of Embry is killing me. I hate surprises. Will you just spill?" Her words tumbled out one after the other.

"Slow down there. I promise to tell you if you promise to not ditch school in order to plan my wedding," and then I thought that there was another even she could ditch school to plan. "Not for my baby shower, not for the graduation party, not for a bachelorette party, and not for a wedding shower. No ditching school for any sort of party planning. I have no problems with you bringing your work to school, but that is vastly different from making yourself look more conspicuous. Especially, now with what is going on in Seattle. It would draw to much attention if you were missing school all of the time. Besides, if I can sit here, craving a chili cheeseburger, then you can sit there and wait to plan."

"Deal, now tell me more wedding details so I can get a good idea of this in my head. Not being able to see your wedding is going to slow down the planning process, but it all should still be doable, as long as you tell me the extent of what you want to happen."

Finished with my painting, I started to clean my work station as I began speaking of the wedding details. "Everyone will know of the pregnancy, and I will be clearly showing, so both Embry and I decided that we have no problem with a wedding dress that shows my belly. We were thinking floor length, silk, with thick straps, but a sleek look. The rest of it is up to you. Oh, and no heels. Swollen feet could kill the mood if the bride has to sit down for half of the night. I still would like sandals, but no heel, at all. Are we clear, Alice?"

"Crystal. Now what about the wedding ceremony? You said a beach wedding right? But what about the reception?"

"Backyard reception at our house. We'll need Emmett and Jasper to move the jungle gym, but there should be enough space with that out of the way. You can plan the table arrangements and all of that. My only stipulation is that I cook the food. I am going to pull in the help of Sue, Leah, Esme, Emily, and Bella, but I want the food to taste homemade, not fabricated from some caterer. But as for the wedding decorations for the ceremony and reception, there should be nothing too elaborate. I have money that I have saved for this day. It's minimal but combined with some other savings, it will be enough. However, Embry and I have both decided that we would rather save the majority of the money for the baby, not our wedding. We just want to be married, and we could care less about most of the specifics."

"Anything that is 'extra' or 'elaborate' will be paid for by the Cullen family." Alice offered, lightly, but with care.

"Alice, you know I cannot accept that."

"You will have to accept it. Think of it as a wedding gift. Besides, you are practically family already, even though Bella and Edward aren't married yet. It's only right that your family help you, especially for an occasion such as this. Anything deemed extravagant, will be paid for by us. What would we do with the money? We have accumulated too much over the years. It's time we circulate it back into the economy." She finished her own painting with those words and began cleaning her work station, as well. "You and Embry do not even have to accept it, because we are giving it to you regardless." With that, the bell rang and we were off to our next class.

This style of conversation continued for the rest of the school day, as we discussed the wedding plans in detail. By lunch, Alice had a decent plan in her head of what the wedding would look like, so she felt at peace enough to wait another hour to plan the guest list. I needed to drive for a chili cheeseburger, pick up Amy from school, and then stop for groceries. Alice said that in order to speed up the process, she would do my grocery shopping on the way to my house from hers, where she would pick up all of her wedding books—why she already had those, I did not want to ask—with designs of gowns, suits, flower arrangements, and cakes to start.

I just shook my head and laughed as I said goodbye to the gang while they sat down for lunch. Bella smiled my way when she saw my wedding ring. She just winked and I knew she knew. Edward gave a slight head nod that most people thought was a form of "see ya' later," when it was really a nod of approval. But he started smirking when Alice said that she would be leaving too. Clearly, he knew the ciaos in store for me.

Leaving the parking lot, I called Embry's mom at the diner to see if she could whip up a chili cheeseburger for me. She just laughed in response, wondering why I even had to call anymore, because I had ordered it every day for the past three months, finding that it settled my stomach and cravings. Before hanging up, she ensured me that it was already cooked with fries on the side and that Embry had just walked in to pick it up for me. I told her to have a good day and asked if she could tell Embry I would see him at home. She replied saying, "For you, yes. If anyone else asked I would say no."

I hung up the phone with a giggle in my throat. It was another average day, with chaotic Alice, loving Embry, and exhausting wedding plans, all until something shot out in front of my car.


	9. Chapter 9: Treading Lightly

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Treading Lightly**_

As something shot across the high way, slow enough to see, quick enough not to see what, I slammed on the brakes. My car screeched to a halt just in time. Luckily today had been fairly dry and I had kept my speed at the speed limit. The combination of that is what allowed my car to stop in time and not hit whatever I saw. But what was that exactly. I bushed my hair out of my eyes to see a pair of black eyes staring back at me. The dark eyes belonged to a girl who could not have been older than fourteen, dressed in clothes dirtier than the forest that surrounded the highway. Before I could blink to clear my eyes, she was gone.

I rubbed my eyes, and looked back at the road. _Is this the pregnancy brain kicking in or was there really a girl standing in the middle of the road?_ Chalking it up to imagination, I hit the gas and started driving again. Before I knew it, my car pulled into the elementary school parking lot only to see Amy waiting with Seth. Why on Earth was Seth here? And why did it look like Amy had been crying?

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, I ran to Amy's side, uncaring that my car blocked the path in the middle of the parking lot. I dropped to my knees so that my eyes were level with Amy's. Her cheeks were tear stained, but the tears had stopped flowing. "Baby, what's wrong? What happened?"

Her sobs started up again as she buried her face in my shoulder, throwing her arms around my neck. She tried to say the words but they were unclear because of her sobs. Her savior, Seth, explained. "At lunch, some girls approached Amy and said she was a loner, with no family. The insults worsened as they said she was homeless and unloved. I could feel her distress, but by the time I showed up, the girls were walking back to class, leaving Amy crying on the swings."

"Why didn't the school call me?" I rubbed smoothing circles on her back, cradling her in my arms.

"The school doesn't know. The girls told the teacher that Amy wasn't feeling well and went to the nurse's office. The teacher didn't think anything of it and went back to teaching. I have been with Amy for the past hour, trying to console her."

Hearing that my baby sister had been hurt, made me want to scream at the girls or at least punch a wall. I kept my calm; Amy needed me to be there for her now. I could deal with the punks later. "Thank you, Seth. Why don't we get in the car and I can call the school later? Would that be alright Amy?" Directing the question to her, now that her sobs had quieted.

"Why did they call me an orphan? Why did the call me homeless? Why did they have to hurt me?" Her words broke my heart and Seth's as we stood there, unable to provide an answer.

"Baby, they are just mean girls, who have no idea what they are talking about. First, you're not homeless. You have a big house with a library and kitchen and jungle gym, don't you?" She nodded. "Second, there is no way you are a loner. Think about how much time you spend with Jared and Paul and Quil and Jake and Sam and Emily and Kim and Leah. Third, they just don't know that you have a big, loving family. Mom and dad loved you very much. Rosalie and Emmett love you as their own child, which is why the come over almost every day. Carlisle and Esme think that you are the brightest girl your age. Alice showers you with gifts because that's how she says 'I love you.' Jasper wanted to spend the afternoon with you because he thinks you're so much fun to be around. Embry loves you like a sister. Lobo loves you just as much as you love him, which I know is a lot. I love you more than all of them combined. And then there's Seth here, who loves you tons too. Don't you, Seth?"

Hearing his cue, Seth stepped up to bat. "I do love you, Amy. More than you could ever imagine. More than anyone has every loved anyone else. What those girls said was mean, but not true. You have more love and family than all of those girls combined. You are the most loved person on the planet."

"I am?" She asked, turning her head to see Seth.

"Yes, you are." He smiled her way and took her hand into his bigger one. His presence alone seemed to brighten her mood.

"He's right, baby. You are the most loved person on this planet, but I have to ask something. Do you want me to go talk to the principal? These girls could be punished for saying those things to you."

She paused for a minute to think. "You don't have to talk to the principal. It would only make them mad and I don't want to get them into trouble, either. I will just talk to them tomorrow."

"You sure?" I wanted to help her, but not if she didn't want it.

"Yeah, I am sure. But can I make some cookies for them, as a peace offering?"

I laughed in joy, at her kindheartedness. "Of course, baby. I am sure Jasper and Seth would both love to help you make cookies. Now why don't we get in the car and meet Jasper at the house?"

She nodded in response, a forced smile creeping across her face. Regardless of her bravery, the words still hurt. Saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is miles away from believing it. Amy would survive the words, but the pain was still there—for now. Seth lifted her into his arms and spun her around, causing her to throw her head back in laughter. Seth was Amy's savior, just as Embry was mine. My little guy—or girl—agreed with a kick. Smiling to myself, I rubbed the spot where he kicked, letting him know I knew. Strolling back to the car, the relief spread to my body. At least Amy was safe and healthy. Seth would cheer her up and so would baking cookies.

We drove back to the house jamming to Pink's "Raise Your Glass." Was there anything better to raise your spirits? We reached our destination in no time at all. Amy rushed into the house with Seth, ready to get cracking on the cookies. I glided past the kitchen, trusting that Amy knew what needed to be done. I headed straight to the garage, not to check paintings, not for a blank canvas, but for family mementos.

Pulling out a few boxes, I carted the dusty, plastic, storage bins to the living room. I did not need explanations or answers—that's not why I was going through these—but to see if there was anything they thought of that Embry and I hadn't yet. Opening the boxes labeled "Wedding," I knew I would need a tissue box to forge down this path. Not my wedding with Greg—we never made it past the engagement; but my parent's wedding. A true fairytale. College sweethearts who gave each other all the love they could create. They saved every nickel from the beginning to the end, keeping it for the children, not spending a dime on them, already having all they needed.

The wedding was a backyard one at his parent's house in Los Angeles. Her dress had been her mother's before her, minus the sleeves. Flowing to floor, form fitting up top, jeweled at the bust, it was elegant and tasteful. A twenty-minute ceremony and six hour reception fit their personalities, having close friends and family in attendance, adding up to a total of forty people. Tables crowded around a dance floor. A stage stood against the back fence where a band—taking occasion breaks for a DJ to step in—played live music all night. The ceremony took place on that same stage while everyone sat at their dinner chairs. Soon after, a buffet line was set up and true Italian food filled the stomachs of all in attendance. The album of photographs had page after page of my mom laughing at something my dad said, my dad shoving cake in my mom's face, my mom smiling as my dad dipped her low on the dance floor. There was true love at that wedding. In that moment, I realized that I wanted the exact same thing; not our wedding to perfectly match theirs, but to have the same amount of passion for life that they had found in each other.

As tears of joy dripped down my face onto my lap, I felt strong arms wrap around me, a kiss placed on my cheek, preventing the next tear about to fall. His burning cheek rested on mine, warming it. Looking at the mementos, he asked, "your parent's wedding?"

"Yeah, they had a backyard wedding. I pulled out the boxes trying to see if there wedding would remind me of something in particular I wanted to see in our wedding."

"Do you know what you want in our wedding that they had in theirs?" Turning the page of the scrapbook, he asked the question, already knowing my answer.

"Love."

"Well, it's a good thing we have plenty of that to spare." He kissed my lips, and would have deepened the kiss, but the couch separated him from me.

He groaned at the barrier as I smiled at his frustration. "You know if you wanted to be closer to me, you could just sit on the couch." I murmured the words around his lips.

Deciding that my suggestion was a welcomed one, he raced around the couch and slid in next to me. Resting an arm on my shoulders, he snuggled into the couch and looked at my parent's wedding with me. Lifting out the next item in the box, he pulled out my mom's wedding veil and slipped it into my hair, throwing the train to flow over the back of the couch. He said one word before kissing me again: "beautiful."

Her dress, garter, and shoes were the only items left in that box, so guess which one I pulled out. Lifting the lace up my leg, I tempted Embry to no end, causing him to lick his lips, as if he could already taste me on his tongue. He started to move in for a passionate kiss but was stopped by a knock at the door. He groaned as I hollered, "come in!"

Alice raced to the living room with vampire speed and Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett followed at a more human pace, oddly enough. She set her books down on the coffee table and ran to get more. She zoomed in and out of the room as the remaining trio spoke with us.

"I hope you two know how ecstatic you have made her." A smile seemed to be plastered across Jasper's lips.

"Oh, I think we have an idea." Embry said, knowing that the pixy would be on a high for months. "We just hope this is not going to affect your life at home, or your family's."

"It will keep her busy enough that everyone else will be able to pick their own clothes for a while. As for me, it will just make me happy to be around her while she is filled with such joy." Jasper's smile change to a smirk, as if he had remembered some inside joke. "Speaking of which, where is Amy?"

"Kitchen, with Seth and Lobo. They're making cookies. Today, Amy had a run in with a few bullies at school." Alice stopped moving her books to listen. The mention of bullies caused everyone in the room to growl at the thought of anyone hurting Amy. "I know; I had nearly the same reaction. Physically, she is fine. They did not touch her, but they threw some harsh words and I think it broke her a little. Seth helped her bounce back a bit, but I think she's going to hurt for a while, even if those girls don't say anything more. She's making cookies for the enemy right now, as a peace offering."

"What are the girl's names?" Emmett asked, the gruff lingering in his voice.

"She didn't say, but I am sure she'd tell you if you asked. But don't go hurt those girls; they're in first grade for Pete's sake." I wanted to get even too, but that was not the way to do it.

"So is Amy! She shouldn't have to suffer that kind of ridicule in first grade." Jasper responded with as much temper as Emmett.

"Hey, you don't think I want the same thing? But getting the girls in trouble with the school will only increase the taunting. Amy wants to talk to them, reason with them. She hopes the cookies will help. Just let her do it her way and do _not_ physically harm those girls. It will not make you feel any better." My words were firm, unwavering. "However, the best way to make Amy feel better and to prove those girls wrong is to love her. Say it to her. Show it to her. Do whatever you can to spread the love. Those girls called her an unloved, homeless, loner without a family. The more you prove them wrong, the less impact their words will have on her."

"I still think we should scare the shit out of those girls, pardon my language." Jasper broke out of his usual gentleman persona to voice his opinion.

"We still have those zombie costumes in storage." Emmett pondered, allowed, an idea already forming in his mind. "We haven't gone on a haunt spree in a while. What do you say?"

"Count me in." Jasper's lips turned into an evil smirk. "Alice, Rosalie, you in?"

"As much as I would love to have the use to use the wedding dress again, Seth is on patrol tonight, so I want to spend the night with Amy. Speaking of whom, you said they're in the kitchen?" I nodded in response to her question and just gave up on Jasper and Emmett, understanding that was a lost battle.

"I can see that my presence would only hinder the progress that you'll make tonight. Have fun though." Alice said the words to the conspirators, as she continued to cart the last of the wedding books from their car to the coffee table.

Emmett and Jasper started conspiring on their way to the kitchen as they trailed Rosalie. Alice finished setting the last wedding magazines and cloth swatches on the table before heading back to the car for her notebook.

"I thought vampires were supposed to have a perfect memory." Embry whispered into my ear at seeing her notebook.

"We do, but I like the tradition of it. Wedding planners always have a wedding planner." Embry and I laughed at her pun, but she didn't. Apparently this wedding planning business was serious stuff.

Alice sat in the single across from our love seat. She eyed the garter and I realized that it was still on my leg. Completely embarrassed, I shed the garment and placed it back into the box next to my mother's shoes and dress. Remembering I also wore the veil, I careful retracted it from my hair and set it next to the other garments.

Turning to Alice, I smiled, acting is if I had not just been playing dress up. "So, Emb ry and I have been talking for a while what we wanted in our wedding and where. I already told you all of the locational information. So I guess we really just need to tell you the guest list, because I am taking care of the food and you're taking care of the rest." The thought of food made my stomach growl.

Embry reached behind the couch we were sitting on and pulled out a greasy bag of food. "I almost forgot to give you your chili cheese burger. Sorry, baby?"

"Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for, especially because you just made me love you even more." I opened the bag and the wave of grease hit me, relieving the nausea I didn't know I had, and causing my hunger to grow much more. I kissed Embry on the cheek and then began to pull out a napkin and the burger. I draped the napkin across my lap and motioned for Alice to continue with the wedding planning.

As I bit into the burger, the spices of the chili sparked appetite but appeased my hunger. Alice began to speak. "So Embry, why don't we talk about your guest list? You don't need to provide addresses, I just need names.

"My mom; Jacob, Rachel, and Billy Black; Paul; Jared and Kim; Emily and Sam; Seth, Leah, and Sue; Brady; Collin; and Quil and Claire." He ticked of each person on his fingers to make sure he included everyone.

I took my last bite of the burger just as Embry finished his list. Alice motioned for me to continue with my side. "Amy and Lobo; Charlie and Bella; Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and of course you; Renée and Phil; Angela and Ben; Mike; Jessica; Lauren and Derik; Cora, our art teacher; Jonesy who own the tattoo parlor—I have his address if you can't find it; Daniel Stuart, Greg's dad—"

"Are you sure you want to invite him?" Alice asked, knowing my past with Greg better than most.

"He always said that I was like a daughter to him, that even after Greg died and I had moved on to someone new, he wanted to be there for me. He said that Greg would want me to move on and he just wanted to be there for me when that happened. I want Daniel there. He's someone from my past who I want to be there. It's not just that he was Greg's dad, he's the only person besides Amy who I still have a strong connection to from my life in California. I can't explain it, but I need him to be there."

"Whatever you want. I just needed to assure that you wanted him there. Is there anyone else?"

The last person on my guest list immediately popped into my head as Alice was finishing the guest list. "The last person I would like to invite to my wedding is Marcus Volturi."

Alice's jaw dropped in astonishment. She was truly surprised for the first time in her life. "Are you crazy? You want to invite the Volturi to your wedding on Quileute lands? Have you lost your ever loving mind?" Alice's protest brought everyone else into the room.

"Calm down, Alice. I'm not inviting the big three, their significant others, and the entire guard. I am only inviting Marcus, and he is allowed to bring one guest, which will probably be one of the guard for his protection. He and I have been e-mailing since the Italy incident. He is interested in my work and I am interested in his history. We have become good friends, and he has expressed interest in meeting Embry, for the sake of knowing to whom I am giving myself, not because of Embry's wolf heritage.

"You saw him in Italy. He was the most apathetic of the Volturi, and he only showed any interest when Edward and Bella's love, my and Embry's love, and my artwork came up in conversation. Don't you see? He has lost his life love and because of his power he is reminded of his lost love when he sees our strong love for each other. My art that he loves so much is from right after I met Embry, when I had fallen hard for him. Marcus is a helpless romantic, who lost his soul mate apparently many centuries ago, and is practically suicidal and apathetic now. Aro and Caius at least travel outside of their castle every few decades: Marcus hasn't left since his Didyme died. If he cares enough to come to our wedding that shows that the Volturi not only has a weak link but that we also could have a strong ally in Marcus. What if their stipulation with Bella goes to hell? What if something else goes wrong with what's going on in Seattle and the Volturi have to intervene, would it not be better to have Marcus partial to what we do, rather than against it?

"Besides, he has become a good friend of mine. Just send the wedding invitation to him, and when the time comes he might not even come."

Alice groaned and turned to Jasper. "Can you reason with her that this would be a bad idea?"

"Actually, I am sorry, Alice, but I have to agree with Abby on this one. It would be more beneficial to have Marcus on our side than not. Besides, from what Carlisle has told me, Marcus lost his wife Didyme and never knew what truly caused her death, then was forced to stay with the Volturi because he felt a tie to them, which Carlisle knew to be fabricated by Chelsea. Marcus apparently wanted to leave the Volturi centuries ago, but never did after Didyme died. If we could persuade him away from them, he could be the best asset ever if the shit hits the fan. Pardon my language, ladies." Jasper's tactical mind could see the benefits of Marcus' friendship with me.

Alice groaned in frustration. "But I won't be able to see with all of the wolves, so it will be even harder to prevent catastrophe. And how do you expect Sam to allow Marcus on the reservation when he does in fact drink human blood. He's only letting us on the reservation for your wedding, and we _don't _even drink human blood. How on earth are you going to persuade Sam?"

"He owes me, big time. First, I have helped solve a problem between you guys and the wolves, and I am sure there will be more to come. Second, I am the reason Leah hasn't torn his head off, yet. Third, I am also the reason she is out of his basement and is now a functioning member of society. Lastly, Emily and I are pretty close. I am sure I could convince her to convince him to let it happen. The wedding is only going to last twenty minutes. We don't want or need an hour long ceremony. Besides, Embry and I have already cleared it with Jake and Billy, who both hold more authority over Sam, even if they don't use it. But they could and that is the point. Sam will agree because there is too much against him to not allow it. Don't worry. Marcus isn't going to do anything. He is too much of an apathetic man to care."

Alice continued to moan. "This is all going to go horribly wrong I can feel it."

I tried to calm her worries with one last effort. "Alice, you worry about the wedding and I will worry about Marcus. Deal?"

"Fine. But this is only because you are even letting me plan your wedding." She submitted with a grumble and continued to take notes. "Anything else you have already talked about?"

"We know how we want our wedding party to be." I turned my head to face Embry's resolute jaw and smiled as he listed the names.

"Jake and Quil are sharing the title of best man, because there is no reason I should decide between the two of them. And I have already asked Billy to reside over the wedding. It will all be official, being that he is ordained." Embry had already done so much talking to everyone down on the reservation to ensure that our wedding could actually happen. I wasn't even sure how he had time between running patrols, going to school, picking up food for me, and spending time with Amy and me.

"And I already told you about the bridesmaid situation. But don't tell anyone cause I still have to ask them if they will be in the wedding party. And I still have to ask a certain someone if he will give me away. But I want to do it at an appropriate time, so I will let you know on Friday if dinner goes over well this Thursday. Remember, everyone is coming over this Friday to talk about the Victoria/new vampire situation, so not too much wedding talk, because I don't want it to overshadow the seriousness of the meeting."

"Fine, so we will just have to get going on it today. What colors or theme did you guys have in mind?"

Embry looked down at me terrified. His expression said, _can a wedding have a theme? _I just squeezed his hand in assurance and took the reins. "No theme in mind. But we would prefer to be theme-less. We would like a powdered, baby-blue color for the dresses, ties, and a beach theme for the decorations and table settings. I have already looked into it a little bit so I will bring down my book of decorations that I liked. But I don't want any table decorations that prevent people from seeing or conversing with someone on the opposite side of the table. All of it needs to be short enough that it doesn't crowd. Let me go get the book." I started to get off of the couch until Embry said he would get it. He gently shifted me off of his lap before placing me on the couch beside where we were lounging. He left a kiss on my forehead before taking long strides up the stairs to our bedroom. He knew exactly where I kept the binder of different decorations. It was one of the things we had worked on together. There was a book of how we wanted the wedding and a book of how we wanted the baby's room. The wedding book was of course much larger and closer to being finished, whereas the baby book was barely started because we didn't know the gender yet.

"Alice, this book had all of the information you will need to plan our wedding, including the names and numbers of guests. Anything that is not in the book is up to you to decide. The only thing Embry and I haven't decided on is the cake and the food. Tiffany is going to lead the cooking and Esme is hopefully going to be doing the cake. I haven't asked Esme yet, but Embry's mom already said yes. So don't say a word until I can ask Esme on Wednesday."

"Do you honestly think I would say something?" She rolled her eyes and continued to take notes.

"Of course not! But I don't know how much you can see with Embry being so involved, so if I tell you then I can be sure. Come on, Alice, have a little faith that I have faith in you." That moment, Embry walked into the room carrying the binder of clippings, print-outs and notes we had collected to plan our wedding. He handed it over to her, and within two seconds she was scanning the pages and finished in less than a minute. "This is so extensive, that I will probably only ask you guys for anymore help to pick a cake, test the food, fit you for your tuxedo and gown, and to practice the ceremony a few days before. I'll start working on all of this tonight." She smiled with a bit too much glee as she stored the binder and her notes in the top of her bag.

"Should we go test some of those cookies?" Embry asked, offering me a hand. I nodded and—with Embry's help—lifted myself off of the couch. The three of us wandered to the kitchen where a flour fight had broken out. Embry quickly shielded me from a batch that Jasper had thrown, but I was still hit by a puff of flour as Amy threw a fistful at my backside.

"This means war." My words resonated in the kitchen as the hollering, yelling, and shouts continued, while I grabbed a fist of flour out of the enormous sack and threw it at Rosalie. She ducked and it hit Seth instead. From there is continued until the flour had been emptied from the sack and could be seen on nearly every other surface. We all sat in a circle on the floor laughing at our silliness after an hour of vicious battle.

Our group of eight cleaned up the mess and then we all said goodbye to each other so that we could clean ourselves. Rosalie made a promise to be back in an hour after she had showered. Alice left with her wedding books and excitement oozing from her pores at the thought of event planning. In reality, she was planning not just one event (a wedding), but four more (graduation celebration, wedding shower, bachelorette party, and baby shower); and that was if you didn't count the fact that Edward and Bella would be getting married soon after us—even if they didn't know it yet. Alice would be busy for a while. Emmett and Jasper said goodnight only before heading off to find their zombie costumes. Seth left for patrol, but only after forcing Amy to promise him that if she needed him, she would call for him; no matter is she needed him tonight or any other night, for any reason, she would yell for him, and he would come running.

Embry didn't have patrol tonight, so he stayed and helped me get the flour out of my hair. I am sure I could have done a decent job, but Embry insisted that only he would be able to get the part on the top of my head. I trusted that only he could be capable of the task of washing my hair, as he shampooed me from the top down. As we stepped out of the shower, I heard the phone ringing and rushed to pick it up before it went to voicemail. It was Bella.

Edward had finished explaining to her all that had happened over the weekend. "Are you okay? Are you sure that vampire didn't do anything to you?"

A giggle slipped from my lips as I brushed off her worry; I had enough of Embry's to last me eternity. With the phone pressed to my ear, I settled into the pillows on my bed. I watched Embry change into a pair of sweatpants as I relaxed, already wearing my own shirt and sweat-shorts. I admonished Bella's worries as I felt none in me. "I'm fine, Bella. Don't worry about me. Worry about you. Did Edward tell you about the meeting on Friday?"

"Yeah, he did. I was actually calling to make sure I was allowed to come." Her voice sounded insistent, but only to the point where she felt assured that she wasn't being left out of the loop.

"Of course you're invited. You're the reason why this meeting is happening this Friday, instead of this past weekend. Just make sure that you and Edward show up at five, and I'll be sure that the wolves don't eat all of the food." With the mention of the wolves, Embry walked across the room in two large strides, and began to tickle me, signaling that any mockery of his brothers would not be tolerated. "Okay, the big bad wolf has warned me that any insults towards his pack will not be accepted, so instead let me ask you, are we still on for dinner Thursday?"

"I'm still coming. Your house at five?" She asked for assurance.

"Yup. See you then."

"See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Abby. Say hi to Embry for me." Bella said her parting words, thinking she was being so cute by mocking me for having Embry over.

Two can play that game. "And say hi to Edward and Charlie for me. Goodnight, Bella." And I hung up the phone before she could formulate a reply.

I turned to Embry and said, "Bella says hello." He laughed, having heard the whole conversation anyways, and didn't need me to repeat it.

"I'm sure she does. So Edward explained it all to her?" Embry's honest curiosity was a commonality I had found persistent in our conversations.

"It sounds like it. And anything he didn't explain will come up on Friday. He can protect her as much as he wants, but that can only happen if she wants that protection he is providing. I hope that he can learn to work with her stubbornness rather than against it."

"Me, too." Embry agreed, kissing my lips. We would have continued kissing but it was dinner time, and Rosalie had just shown up with a meal I hadn't been expecting.

Rosalie laid out food that Esme had made earlier in the day. Esme had made it incase I was too tired to make a meal, and had luckily guessed right. Rosalie warmed up the lasagna in the oven with the seasoned asparagus, before adding a vinaigrette to the green salad. I thanked Rosalie and asked her to pass on the gratitude to Esme. Amy came down stairs just then and smiled at Rosalie before running into her arms for a hug. The four of us sat down to dinner, and with the exception of Rosalie, ate the meal in comfortable companionship. Rosalie and Amy went to Amy's room to play dress up as Lobo trailed at their feet. Embry and I washed the dishes and headed back to bed. We fell asleep just minutes after settling in between the sheets.


	10. Chapter 10: Another Detail

_**Here is another chapter and I apologize for the delay. There is no good reason other than I had writer's block. But now that that is out of the way, I will post again soon on one of my stories. I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far. Enjoy and give me a bit of feedback. Love, VampAndWolfLover.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Another Detail**_

The next day started normally and continued into the afternoon with ease. The whole crowd came over again as usual. Esme cooked dinner for Amy, Seth, Embry and me. Carlisle had a late shift at the hospital so he couldn't come over until later. Alice was working on wedding plans as she typed away on her laptop. Jasper and Emmett recounted to me and Embry how their scaring tactics worked on the bullies. They warned the girls that if they didn't come clean with Amy they would eat their brains, as zombies are known to do. Rosalie, Seth, and Amy played fetch with Lobo in the backyard. We all joined them as steak and potatoes cooked in the oven.

The only surprise of the day was Leah walking out from the forest. It was a welcome surprise nonetheless. She asked me if I minded her spending the night on the couch. I told her it wasn't a problem as Esme went into the kitchen to add another steak and potato to the already cooking batch. We threw a Frisbee around until Carlisle joined the group. Our quirky family moved to the kitchen where the omnivores ate dinner and the carnivores sat around, making pleasant conversation. After dinner, the house slowly emptied until Seth, Amy, and Lobo were asleep upstairs, Esme and Carlisle were washing the dishes, Embry was leaving for patrol, and Leah and I were setting up the couch downstairs with sheets, blankets, and a pillow.

After the couch was made up for Leah to sleep on, I sat down with her ready to talk about what had happened. "What's going on?"

The tension in Leah's shoulders dissipated as the worlds rolled from her tongue. "Being back in my mom's house was fine. Until Sam stopped by today to tell me that I wasn't allowed to go so far off of the reservation. I had been taking excessively long runs all the way to the US/Canada border. It had been one of the things to give me a sense of freedom lately. He didn't even provide an explanation when I asked why. And then when I refused to stop taking my runs, he made it a direct order, one that I can't break. I barely made it out of the house before I went wolf. I just needed to spend the night off of the reservation tonight."

"Leah, stay as long as you'd like. You're practically family, with what has been going on with Seth. Even if he hadn't imprinted on Amy, you would still be welcome anytime. On a different note, if you need some freedom, Carlisle and Esme are here and I think they would like to talk to you if I am not mistaken."

With those words, Carlisle and Esme walked into the room, caring smiles plastered on their faces. They sat down on the love seat across from the longer couch. Esme spoke first. "I know that Abby has already offered, but I wanted to tell you myself. You are more than welcome to stay at our house anytime you wish. We have extra rooms and no treaty laws will be broken if you stayed with us, because a female wolf was never even considered when the treaty was originally written. So you can come and go as long as you'd like, without Sam knowing, as long as our smell doesn't bother you too much."

Leah snorted at the comment about the smell, and then excused herself and corrected our assumptions. "I can stand your smell far better than I can tolerate being so close to Sam. I'd like to take you up on that offer soon, because I don't know how much longer I can spend on the reservation before I go wolf right in front of my mom or in our house, if you're sure that I won't be a bother." Her trepidation was because she didn't want to intrude, not because she would be intruding on vampires.

Esme dissolved some of Leah's fears, as she had the tendency to do. "It won't be a trouble at all. In fact, it will be nice to have someone in the house to talk to while Carlisle is at work and the kids are all wreaking havoc on the town." She smiled at an inside joke, before turning her softened smile towards Carlisle. "And now if I am not mistaken, you have something to discuss with my husband?"

Even though Esme motioned to Carlisle begin, he left it to Leah to initiate the conversation. He knew, as well as I, that Leah needed to approach the topic on her own, before she could ever come to terms with the topic. It took a few steadying breaths before Leah could speak. I squeezed her knee in reassurance, and with a bit of support, she began to talk. "It has been a fear of mine, ever since I phased, that I won't be able to have a child. Or that I am not even completely woman now."

"Why is that, my dear?" Carlisle asked, his brow furrowing in concern for her physical health and self-esteem. Carlisle knew far better than anyone else what it was like to be at war with who you were fundamentally, and not being able to comprehend the situation, let alone being capable to accept it.

"I haven't had my period since I phased, and a female wolf has never existed before, so I thought there could be something wrong with my genetics." Leah spoke the words with trepidation, her voice shaking, until Carlisle squelched those fears.

"From my understanding, there haven't ever been this many wolves before either, so it may be more of a genetic anomaly, not genetic disturbance, that is causing you to be a wolf." Carlisle's brain was kicking into doctor mode, maintaining a level of curiosity while comforting the patient.

"That's what Abby said," Leah submitted in resignation. "I just don't understand why all of this is happening to me," Leah moaned, burying her face in her hands. She could have cried and would have if she had any more tears left to shed. The damn had broken long ago.

Carlisle started speaking, after her moaning had quieted down, for he understood she needed to vent. "If you don't mind, Leah, I could run some tests on your blood, as well as perform a physical exam, to see what may or may not be preventing you from exhibiting a natural cycle. I will most likely need a control though to compare your blood samples. Do you think your brother would be willing to go through an exam as well?" Carlisle continued his line of questioning, gearing up for scientific discovery.

An unexpected voice entered the conversation. "I don't mind." Seth's words caused our heads to whip around towards the stairs.

"I thought you were asleep." Leah whispered, but what she meant was 'I thought you wouldn't have to hear this and see me breaking down.'

"I couldn't sleep when I overheard the conversation." He answered Leah's unspoken with a soft glance, saying: 'I knew you were hurting, and I can't bear it anymore.' He finished coming down the stairs before turning to Carlisle. "I want to give you my DNA to give my sister a peace of mind. She doesn't deserve not having answers."

Carlisle nodded in affirmation. "Of course. When would be best for you both to stop by our house?"

"We're not doing this at the hospital?" Seth asked, his eyebrow quirking with his own spiked curiosity.

"If I took your temperature and blood pressure and heart rate, which are all probably off the charts, and another doctor or nurse saw it, they would start raising questions left and right. That would expose all of us in a matter of minutes. No, I prefer to do my own testing. So when do either of you have free time?" Carlisle explained matters easily, having already had a few hundred years to ponder the consequences.

"I can come over tomorrow, after I run patrol. Is five o'clock alright?" Seth posed the question, with more fear than confidence. He had spent time with vampires all of the time because of Amy's connection with the Cullens. _What did he have to fear?_

Carlisle gave a slight nod, feeling that would be fine. "It will be a quick procedure. I just need to do a basic evaluation on your health and take a blood sample. I promise it will barely hurt." Seth let out a breath of relief. Seth had a fear of needles, it seemed. Even after his own nod of confirmation, Seth stayed, still feeling he was the child, and needed permission before being excused.

"Seth, it's late. Why don't you head back to bed and I'll be sure that you and Amy get a good breakfast in the morning?" I gave Seth his escape and he left the room in a flash, defusing the room of tension.

"Can I come over tomorrow with some of my belongings to move in? And then I can go through the tests whenever you're available?" Again, Leah's voice was laced with a different nervousness than Seth's voice had. She was nervous for the procedure's results, not the procedure itself. Nonetheless, Carlisle gave his response understanding that nothing he could say would ease her mind, until he had results.

"I will be home at four, because today's shift was longer and we always close early on Wednesdays. Shall I do your exam at four and follow up with your brother's a five?" By giving Leah a question she could answer, instead of providing a command, Carlisle was giving Leah power. Power to help her gain confidence for what was to come.

"That sounds perfect." And with her response, a tension eased from her shoulders. Having a future Leah could rely on, she relaxed enough to sense the exhaustion weighing down on her. Her yawn spurned my yawn. Carlisle and Esme excused themselves and thanked me for the company, being polite as always.

I locked up the house and said goodnight to Leah, before heading upstairs. Too tired to do much else, I slipped out of my clothes, into a maternity nightgown, and slipped into bed. With my hand resting on my baby bump, I fell asleep to thoughts of a definite future.

And then the week continued with family every day after that. Wednesday, I drove with Amy to the Cullen house. I wanted to check up on Leah to see how she was settling into the vampire den. As I pulled up into the driveway, Esme opened the front door with her warm smile. She had an apron on and was whisking away at something in a metal bowl. As Amy and I walked up to her, I could smell the chocolate and realized Esme was in the middle of cooking a chocolate cake. Amy smiled, said hello, and ran upstairs to go find Emmett and Rosalie. Esme and I wandered into the kitchen where she had everything out to bake her confection from scratch. I sat down on a barstool at the island. Esme continued to whisk ingredients into her bowl as I spoke.

"How did move in go? Is Leah adjusting?"

"At first, she couldn't stand the smell for more than ten minutes at a time. Now, she said she can handle it. I think that as her own scent spreads through the house and her room, it will help dilute our scent for her." She added another egg. "Other than that, I was shocked at how few possessions she brought with her. She said it was everything, but she barely had any clothes: two pairs of pants, two shorts, three t-shirts, one bra, a few panties, no socks, and one pair of sneakers."

"Alice is going to have a field day." We both laughed at bit at my comment, before Esme continued with her concern.

"She had a framed family photo and a few books. The only toiletries she had were a hairbrush, toothpaste, and toothbrush. I am just concerned she has no physical possessions to help ground her when people aren't there to support her." Esme's brow furrowed with worry.

"Which is why we will be there to support her. Besides, this will give you the opportunity to go shopping with her. Didn't you tell me that the room would need redecorating?"

"Well, yes. And it is more along the lines of decorating, rather than redecorating. That room was stark naked, aside from a bed with sheets." Esme not only held concern for Leah's wellbeing, but also that the state of the room made it appear that the Cullens weren't being gracious hosts.

"Esme, don't worry so much. Leah already thinks the world of you for taking her in like this. She will be happy to just stretch her legs and be free from Sam's constraint." My words put Esme at ease.

She began to pour the cake batter into a tin, and I was reminded of my second reason for coming to visit the Cullens. "Esme, I have an ulterior motive for coming to see you today, and I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, dear. What it is?" She slipped the tin into the oven with her back turned towards me.

I waited to ask, until she was facing me again. "You know that Embry and I will be getting married in early July, and I was hoping that you would be able to bake our wedding cake. If not, I completely understand, and we can go find a bakery that will do it for us, but I know you are so good with baking, and detail, and I wanted to ask you first. Especially because I know you would do the best job. So could you?" I felt like I was rambling, nervous because she wouldn't say yes.

"Oh, I'd thought you would never ask. I had already started thinking about it a bit, but was worried you wouldn't ask me to bake it for you." A smiled brightened her face as she glided around the kitchen, replacing her ingredients where they belonged. "What did you and Embry have in mind for your cake?"

"Alice has the binder of everything we had thought about for our wedding, but the stuff we talked about for a cake is very minimal. We really have no idea what kind of flavors we want or anything like that."

"Why don't you and Embry come over on Saturday, and we can test out some samples to see what you guys prefer?" Esme offer was laced with enthusiasm. I could see she was starting to make a mental list of all the different cakes she wanted to try.

"Would it be okay if Jake and Quil come too? Embry has already asked them to be the best men, but they demanded that they be allowed to help decide on the wedding cake. I think they just want free food."

"I'm sure they do, but I'll be sure there is enough cake for all four of you to taste test. Don't worry."

Esme and I continued to talk wedding until Leah came down at four-thirty. She looked on edge as she sidled up in a barstool next to mine. Esme and I gave each other skeptical glances before I asked the question.

"What's got you so worked up?"

"I just finished the procedure with Carlisle and I am just…stressed. What if I really can't have children?" She groaned, throwing her face into her palms.

"Leah, breathe and calm down. Stress isn't going to help you get back on a normal menstrual cycle. You need to relax. You should take up yoga or something." I rubbed her back in a circular motion the way I did to comfort Amy.

Her head perked up at the mentioning of yoga. "Does that stuff actually work?"

Esme gave her own words of wisdom. "I tried it back when I couldn't control my urge to feed. It worked wonders to calming my thirst and balancing the strong emotions I was feeling as a newborn. In fact, I still do yoga every morning. I have an extra mat, if you would like to do yoga with me."

"I would love to. Thank you, Esme, for everything." Leah's words meant more if you could understand the emotional distraught she had been experiencing.

"It's my pleasure." The oven sounded with a ding, signaling the cake had finished. Esme slid it out of the oven, placing it on hot pads on the granite counter. The chocolate aroma drifted towards Leah and me, and we both moaned simultaneously. Esme was a wizard in the kitchen.

After a few minutes of letting the cake cool, Esme whipped out the frosting and ice cream. She evenly coated the cake in a whipped, vanilla frosting before cutting us slices to go with chocolate-chip-cookie dough ice cream. Without words, Leah and I consumed Esme's confection, letting the ice cream melt in our mouths simultaneously as the cake dissolved on our taste buds.

By the time we finished our pieces, Amy skipped into the kitchen with Rosalie and Emmett. Esme dished up a slice for Amy, before Amy could even ask for a piece. Emmett lifted Amy into her own barstool so she could eat. We all talked for a while about nothing of great importance. The simplicity of being surrounded by family was enough to satisfy the lack of topical discussion.

However, Amy broke up that all by interjecting her own desires. "Can we watch The Lion King tomorrow night?"

"Of course, we can. Rosalie, Emmett, are you still coming over for dinner tomorrow night?" I asked, needing to confirm that I would be able to reveal my secrets.

"Absolutely! First, I love any chance to make Bella squirm without Edward around. Second, I still haven't seen The Lion King, because it was further down on my movie queue." Emmett looked so thrilled to be watching The Lion King that I was shocked he hadn't seen it, because once he had he would love it even more."

I said the words just out of reflex. "Hey Amy, are you achin'… for some bacon?"

"You could be a big pig too."

"Ughh." We both grunted, after throwing our one liner towards each other. Timon had a sense of humor in the movie that would get Amy and me rolling on the floor, trying to fight our giggles. However, it was more that we would start laughing at each other laughing that the laughing would continue for a good five minutes. In this case, we just smirked at our little inside joke, knowing that Timon dressing in drag to do the hula could make a marble statue smirk.

Emmett just looked confused at the reference and I could see that he almost wanted to move the movie watching to tonight. Before Emmett could voice his idea, Seth knocked on the glass door, leading from the backyard to the kitchen. Esme let him in and told him Carlisle would be in his study upstairs. With a slight thank you, Seth gave Leah a brave, barely-there smile and headed upstairs. Rosalie diffused the tension in the kitchen by asking Leah a simple, unexpected question.

"So, Leah, how are you going to decorate your room?" Rosalie's considerate side was showing.

"I thought the room was decorated." Leah almost tilted her head down to hide her shyness and shame, as she whispered the words.

"Heavens no, that room is more naked than a new born baby. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go into town tomorrow to buy materials to decorate it." Esme offered, her voice transitioning from shocked to caring.

"You have already done too much. Besides, I wouldn't know how to decorate it." Leah had no idea what she was getting into with the Cullen Family. Esme would be decorating her room, Alice would be buying her clothes, Carlisle was already doing research for her well-being, and Rosalie would be helping her with hair and make-up before the week had ended. Hell, by next week, Jasper and Edward would be taking her car shopping while Emmett offered to wrestle and hunt with her.

"We have barely done anything. Besides, if you will be living here, we have to make sure that your room is actually a good representation of you and makes you feel comfortable. We can look through my decorating books, paint swatches, and material samples to get a feel for what to buy tomorrow. If you want of course." Esme wanted Leah to feel comfortable, but didn't want to push her overboard, before she had even been in the house for twenty-four hours.

"That would be really nice, thank you. But I am not sure how I could repay you." Leah seemed uncomfortable with the idea of money and energy being spent on her for nothing in return.

"I have already said that your companionship during the day while everyone else is out would be all that I need. Besides, I like projects and room decorating will at least keep me busy for a few days. But if it makes you feel better, you can help me with house chores. I have been trying to clear out some of the trees in the backyard to make room for a garden for doing yoga. You could help me with that." Only a mother could know that the best way to have Leah feel comfortable would be to give her a task of repentance.

"I would love to help with that. Thank you." Leah stood up to clear her plate and mine, but nearly dropped the plates in the sink when she heard Carlisle and Seth coming into the kitchen laughing at some private joke.

"What has you two laughing so hard?" I spoke and was met with absolute silence from both of them. They gave each other a sideways glance before bursting out into fits of laughter.

I looked at the clock hanging above the sink and realized it was seven o'clock. Hopping off of the barstool, I looked to thank Esme for the food but she was already at the refrigerator door pulling out a pan of something covered in foil.

"It's getting late, and I am sure you and Amy must be getting home soon; but here is some baked macaroni and cheese for you to heat up for dinner." Esme came over to hand the pan to me.

"Thank you, Esme, for the cake and dinner. I'll see you on Friday, if not tomorrow." I kissed her on the cheek and gave her a one-armed hug as I held the tray in my other arm.

Seth lifted Amy from the barstool and did a spin with her in his arms, forcing her to burst out into giggles. Emmett stole Amy from Seth's arms to give her his own hug and kiss before passing the girl on to Rosalie who did much of the same. The goodbyes continued until Amy, Seth, and I had given everyone some sort of parting farewell. I barely notice Seth whispering something to Leah before giving her a heart-wrenching, brotherly hug.

I gave Leah my own goodbye and hug, telling her, "if you need anything, don't hesitate in asking the Cullens or giving me a call."

She nodded and thanked me in return. Seth, Amy, macaroni and cheese, and I left the house in my car, with Amy snuggled into Seth's side in the back seat and the mac and cheese sitting comfortably in the passenger seat.

"Seth, what did you tell Leah as we left, if you don't mind me asking?" I looked in my rearview mirror, staring at him, as I said this.

"I told her that Sam was holding a pack meeting tomorrow night in preparation for Friday. It will be very low-key but Sam told me to tell Leah, after what happened in the house the other day. I also said that I would back her up in anything she decided to tell Sam, whether she keeps the new living arrangement from him or not. I also said that I would always back her up, no matter what and no matter how far into the future she needs me." He said the words, his eyes focused instead on Amy's hand that he held in his.

"That was very generous of you." I remarked, but hopped he would continue his explanation.

"No it's not. If my dad where here, she would be standing firm against Sam and dad would be supporting her. But he's not. I should have fought harder with her from the moment we phased. It wasn't until last night that I realized how out of control this whole thing has gotten and her without my supporting her. I have supported her, but not enough that she knows it, and she needs a solid support system right now, if nothing else."

"I am glad that you are supporting her, and what do you think if I hung out near the meeting tomorrow and made a surprise appearance if she needed it, because I am one of the few people not bounded by Sam's rules."

A devilish grin spread across Seth's face. "I think that would be an excellent idea, but how would you know when to intervene?"

"You and I can have a phone call going during the meeting, but have the phone hidden. That way I can hear the entire meeting and know whether or not I should intervene."

"But Leah doesn't always speak her mind until she blows. So how do I signal to you that she is getting agitated?"

"You could hang up the cell phone." Amy interjected, providing a little bit of wisdom to the conversation.

"Perfect. Great thinking, Amy. What time is the meeting tomorrow?" I needed to know the details, to see if I could still squeeze in dinner with Rosalie, Emmett, and Bella.

"Ten o'clock. At Emily's house. I have no idea why she continually volunteers her house for these things. Somebody is going to go wolf during a meeting someday and then her living room is going to get destroyed, if not her entire house." Seth's observation was a good one, but I had a decent explanation.

"Maybe she volunteers it because you all are much less likely to go wolf for the fear of ruining her house, instead of it being Sam's house or one of your own. If it was one of your homes, you all would care much less about going wolf and damaging your own living room."

"I guess that makes sense."

There was silence for another minute or so as I drove down the winding road, heading closer and closer to the populated part of Forks. But then, just like before, something shot across my line of sight and I managed to break just in time to see the same girl staring back at me. The only difference? Her eyes were no longer black, but red.

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_**Tell me your comments and I might post another chapter ;)**_


	11. Chapter 11: Ears and Eyes

**_I will not say I had writer's block because I didn't. I was on vacation, and that isn't really a good excuse. In fact it's a terrible one. I know that it has been awhile, which is why I hope that the extra length with placate you all. I will stop making excuses and just let you enjoy._**

**_All my best,_**

**_vampandwolflover_**

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_**Chapter 11**_

_**Ears and Eyes**_

The red eyes stared back into my own, and just as before, I blinked and she was gone. The only affirmation I had that she had existed at all was the fact that Seth was panting harshly, rapidly, trying to control his urge to shift. Amy whispered soft words to him, and slowly he calmed down.

"I should go track her, or at least report this to Sam." Seth submitted, almost as a whisper.

"No, you shouldn't." The words rolled of my tongue effortlessly, but the strength in my voice broke no argument…almost.

"And why not? Isn't it my duty to protect everyone on the reservation, and Forks if I can help it, from those bloodsuckers?" His bark was worse than his bite, if he had any bite at all.

"Or course, but you saw how young she is. She is about your age, and clearly she has no one to guide her. Would you end her life, which has barely begun, all because she had no knowledge that there is another way?"

Seth sighed with resignation. He knew I was right. "Then what would you have me do?"

"Keep it a secret. I will bring it up during the meeting on Friday, which will start to conclude whatever is going on with all of these newborn vampires. And the fact that she has not attacked me either time tells me that she still has some of her own control."

"Wait, you have seen her before?"

"The day I came to pick up Amy from school on Monday, just as I was driving, she shot across the middle of the road just like she did now. The only difference is that her eyes were black, so she has fed since then. But I was practically a feast laid before her last time, and she could have easily fed on me, yet she didn't. That says something for her control. We will keep this a secret between the three of us until the time comes to do something about all of the newborns in Seattle. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Deal." Amy said after Seth, confirming that we could keep this on the down low.

I drove as fast as I could back to the house. I sent Amy and Seth to go wash up. The took individual showers and by the time I had finished heating up the macaroni and cheese, they had finished. As the three of us sat down to dinner, Embry came strolling in the back door, slipping on a clean shirt, in addition to his shorn jeans.

His trademark, heart-melting grin slid my way as he walked through the kitchen, grabbing himself a plate and table setting, before sitting at my side.

"It smells delicious, and I don't just mean the mac and cheese." His quick wink would have been missed if I wasn't so in tuned with his personality.

"Well, you have Esme to thank for dinner. Everyone dig in please."

We dished out our helpings and devoured Esme's generosity, leaving only a Pyrex with some browned cheese around the edges. All four of us sat back in our chairs, rubbing our full stomachs, mine fuller than most. As I absentmindedly rubbed circles on my belly, I wondered how Leah was fairing on her first night in a vampire coven house_—would she even get any sleep or would Emmett keep asking to wrestle?_ The later seemed to be most likely, but then my mind strayed to the other wolves in the pack who felt lost. Well, only one wolf. Jacob. His heart had not fared well in Edward coming back. He could feel the romantic distance between him and Bella, but I could tell part of him was still hanging onto the hope. Where he derived that hope, I will have no idea. I could only hope that he found love in someone else before it tore him apart.

"Baby, what are you thinking about? I can practically see the gears turning in your head." Embry gathered my left hand in his and brushed kisses across my knuckles, as he wondered what had me so concerned.

"I'm worried about Jacob. And Leah. And everything else really."

"So Leah moved in today?"

"Yeah, she seems to be doing well. As good as we can hope for, anyways."

"Baby, you need to worry a little bit less. Everything will work out." Standing to his full height, Embry offered me a hand out of my chair. "Why don't we get to bed?"

"But I have to do the dishes." I said, trying to politely excuse myself from sleeping for another five minutes.

"I'll do them, Abby. It's the least I could do after all that you have done for me and my sister." Seth offered and was already gathering all of the dishes.

"Seth, it's my pleasure. And thank you for cleaning up." I walked to the opposite side of the table where Amy was sliding out of her seat. "Make sure you feed Lobo before heading to bed."

"I will, sis'. Goodnight." She stood on her tipped toes and I leaned forward so she could kiss my forehead.

"Sleep tight." I followed with a kiss to her forehead.

"And don't let the bed bugs bite." We spoke simultaneously. She giggled as did I.

Amy and Seth went to bed soon after dinner, while Embry and I sat on the back porch at my insistence. I wanted to talk to him, help plan things out. His over-heated arms wrapped around my shoulders as my entire body lay over his, with our feet drooping over the edge of the bench swing.

"I have to tell you something, because I want you to be prepared for when these things unfold over the next couple days. Tomorrow, as you know, Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett are coming over so we can talk about their roles in the wedding." I paused, not for dramatic effect, but to sum up my courage. "Afterwards, I was planning on crashing Sam's pack meeting."

"I think that sounds like a brilliant idea. Sam will be itching for a fight with Leah, and vice versa. If you intervened that would prevent them both from going wolf. Frankly, it would make me feel better that you were there. But we both knew something like this was going to come around soon. So tell me, what else is bothering you?"

"You know how there was a vampire at the mall when we went shopping for maternity clothes?"

I was trying to segway into my little, dangerous announcement. "Yes, but what does that have to do with this? We were going to talk about amping up security at Friday's meeting."

"Well, I think there might be a few more newborn vampires, one of whom has managed to make it all the way to Forks."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I have literally almost run her over twice with my car."

Embry's breathing started to pick up pace, and I needed to start damage control before he caused any damage. "Look, she can't be sixteen years old, and I doubt anyone is actually watching over her as much as she needs it; however, it's clear to me that she already has serious levels of control on her own."

"Why do you say that?" Embry grunted, through clenched teeth.

"Because the first time I saw her, she had pitch black eyes. She could have attacked me and fed but she didn't. She clearly didn't choose this lifestyle and she is so young, so innocent. I think she might be worth saving."

Embry's breathing had returned to normal as he rubbed a pattern on my stomach, for his comfort, not mine (even though it felt comforting). He let out a chuckle at the last sentence of my omission, which ended up sound more like a plea than an assertion. "You just can't help but save everyone, can you, baby? Even the bloodsuckers?"

"If I am saving werewolves, I might as well save the bloodsuckers too."

Embry's head shot back with laughter and I could feel the warmth reverberate through his chest, as he held me just a bit tighter. "I'm glad you like to save both, just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"You will keep telling me about these things. I know I can't protect you every minute of every day—no matter how much I want to—but it will help me protect you as much as possible if I know what's going on. Deal?"

"Deal. I will continue to tell you anything and everything I can. Now, can we please go to bed? My toes are getting cold."

"You're not getting cold feet, are you Miss Caldwell?" He started to tickle my sides, knowing my weak points.

Through my giggling I replied, "Not in the way you mean. Are you Mr. Call?" I retorted.

"My feet are toasty warm. Feverish in fact."

"Maybe we should just elope in Vegas." I said it as a fleeting notion, but before my very eyes, stood Alice, shaking her finger at me.

"You are not eloping in Vegas! You are going to get married here and it is going to be beautiful. Understand?"

"Jeeze, Alice, I was only joking. There was no need for you to run all the way here." I insisted, trying to placate her.

"Oh, yes I did. If I hadn't shown up you two would have been doing a werewolf wedding at the love chapel at midnight tomorrow, with Amy, Seth, and Embry's mom as your witnesses." Alice continued to stare at me, trying to scare me into staying.

"I wasn't honestly considering that. Were you, Embry?" I twisted my torso to see his face and I could tell he honestly was.

"Well, yeah. But it's just a thought. And actually, the werewolf theme was just to mess with you Alice." He laughed at her horrified expression.

"Alice, ignore him. You have my word that we will be getting married in Forks, with the wedding you design."

Alice stood still for a minute, her eyes glazed over, and then she sighed in relief. "Everything's back to normal. See you both soon." Alice skipped away, now that all was right in her world.

I lightly smacked Embry on the chest and he replied, "hey, what was that for?"

"For scaring our wedding planner. Who knows what she could do in retaliation? It's a good thing you have your looks to fall back on." I smirked at him, knowing he could see the profile of my face and the humor that I meant in the situation.

"Now that I have temporarily scarred one evil, little pixy, shall we head to bed?" He proposed, trying to emulate an aristocratic accent, that I could not identify being from any specific country, because it was partly crossed between English and French.

I giggled, of course. "I'd love to." And with that, he carried me to bed, again.

Thursday started normally, with school being relatively uneventful. People continued to gossip about Prom and people were throwing around flowers and popping the question left, right, up and down. Some asked with creativity and romance, while others kept it simple. For the most part people would answer yes, and a chaste kiss and hug—or not—would ensue. Occasionally, a heart would be broken as the rejection fell upon hopelessly romantic ears; but time would ease the pain and the one that "got away" would be forever remembered. Embry and I had it easy. We were already getting hitched, so why was there need to go all out with Prom? I mean, Prom for us was like a date night, one of the last nights we would have without the pressures of parenthood. I could not fathom the girls getting pregnant younger than I, and without the stability of a steady income and a supportive family. Being a parent at this age was going to exhaust Embry and me, that I was sure of. Luckily, I was also sure that my awkward, extended family was not only able, but excited, to be able to help take care of our little bundle of joy. The vampires don't sleep and the werewolves have enough energy to kill a horse, and then the sheer number of people that would want to cradle the baby in their arms. This child was going to be spoiled to the nth degree.

As I was saying, Thursday began with the informative school day, and rolled into a fantastic lunch. I left the parking lot with Bella in my car, as Edward drove her monster home. Alice and Jasper were picking up Amy and would be taking her on a fun filled day with a variety of trouble. Rosalie and Emmett said they would meet at my house at five so I had two hours to whip up dinner, not that Rosalie and Emmett needed to eat, but Bella and I plus baby, needed to munch a bit.

Bella helped me prepare a pink vodka sauce for the grilled chicken breast and fettuccini pasta. I threw some buttered garlic bread into the oven before throwing together a simple garden salad. Just as the oven timer binged, Emmett and Rosalie walked in the door. Just as the four of us were sitting down to the table, Embry walked in the back door slipping on a t-shirt. I smiled his way and kissed him on the cheek as he strolled to stand by my side.

"I thought you couldn't come tonight."

"Leah and I traded patrols. I wanted to be here tonight, for you." He kissed me on the forehead and my heart melted all over again. I wasn't sure if I would ever tire of his love and compassion.

"Well, then it's a good thing Bella and I made enough extra food." I turned towards everyone else, and said—being the excellent hostess that I am—" please sit down."

Bella, Embry, and I dished out pasta, salad, and garlic bread onto each of our plates. Emmett began to speak of Alice, saying he was grateful she was so busy with planning outfits for Prom, a party for graduation, and my and Embry's wedding, and the baby shower that she hardly had time to pester him on what to wear.

"Well, I am glad our busy lives keep her entertained enough so you can destroy the town." Bella joked, but I could sense that she was uneasy about all of the dresses and heels Alice would undoubtedly be forcing her to wear.

"Actually, thank you Emmett for bringing that up, because we—Embry and I—would like to ask you guys something important." I paused for dramatic effect, but then I realized how overrated dramatic pauses were—I mean who really needs the suspense built after you have already invited them over for dinner, in advanced telling them something important is going to be announced, then repeating that same gesture of announcing that an important announcement is going to occur, it's over kill really. Like a cliff-hanger that is more than just a cliff-hanger, like you're tied to a rope, hanging over the cliff, which was already hung. Wait, that metaphor made no sense. Well, I guess I could just make the announcement instead.

"We would like you two, Bella and Rosalie, to be my Bridesmaids." They gasped with grins, and did a little jig in their seats before high-fiving. Then they turned to me and said simultaneously, "what are we wearing?"

I put my hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Ask Alice. I gave her our tentative decisions, and she is going through with the final decisions, and just getting our approval once she is done."

"Well, as fun as dress talk is and all, I understand why you asked Rose and Bells to come over, but why me? I could have hung out with Amy, Jasper, and Alice tonight." Emmett really had no idea. I mean, Rosalie and Bella had expected it to some extent. They're my best friends so of course they are in the wedding party; our announcement just confirmed their hopes.

"Emmett, I would hope, that because you have watched over Amy so much for me, and I care for you like a family member, that you would be the one to give me away to Embry." Emmett's jaw dropped. It was hard to surprise a big guy like Emmett, who always looked so sturdy and gruffy, who always looked like he could with stand anything—a nuclear bomb, parental control, and even a little surprise—but apparently not. His shocked expression seemed so out of place on a man who could withstand so much, well, everything.

Rosalie lifted his jaw back into place, where it seemed to stay. He was completely unresponsive, and that worried me, because we needed a response. "Rosalie, can vampires go into shock?"

Bella waved her hand in front of Emmett's line of vision—no response. "I haven't seen it yet, but I don't see why that isn't possible."

"We could always tackle him to see if he responds. Although, even when he is conscious he hardly responds during wrestling, I mean it is no contest. I always win." Embry eased back in his chair, throwing his hands behind his head, and dropped his shoulders in a relaxed fashion.

Emmett snapped out of it immediately. "You do not beat me, and it is going to stay that way if you expect to ever marry our little Abby."

"Are you trying to Blackmail me into losing, because you know that's when you have become extremely desperate in trying to win that you have to stoop that low." Embry's face had cracked a smile so wide you knew he was spinning it so Emmett would challenge him. Man they were itching for a fight.

I, of course, had to intervene or I would never get the reply. "Hold the phone and settle down boys. Before you start wrestling in the backyard in would like confirmation. Emmett, will you really give me away at my wedding?"

"Of course I will. Did you even have to ask?" He joked.

Rosalie, Bella, and I exchanged a look that said one word, but also volumes. _Men._

Not a second later, I could see Rosalie's remark that would simultaneously belittle and praise the male race in one swoop. But then the backdoor crashed open.

Our heads spun around to see a worried, panting Jake, pulling his shorts to his waist, as he ran through the hall into the kitchen. "Embry and Abby, you guys need to get to Sam's house quick. Sam called Leah to the house early and now he has banned her from leaving."

"Wait, if you were down there and you saw this, why didn't you calm her down and talk Sam out of it?" Embry asked.

Jake's breathing still hadn't caught up with him, as he replied through labored breaths. "I was running patrol and saw her go wolf, she tried making it outside but he restricted her from leaving his house, not the reservation. So she went wolf in the living room. Luckily, Emily was in the kitchen, so she didn't get hurt. But Sam just kept making it worse. I ran here as fast as I could. You're the best at calming her down, Abby. You're also the best at making Sam see reason."

I turned towards my guests and said, "I hope you three don't mind me leaving. Is this okay? You are welcome to stay as long as you would like."

"We will head out. Alice and Jasper are watching a movie with Amy. Emmett, would you like to go join them?" Rosalie asked out of formality, she wanted to watch the movie with or without him.

"I thought you would never ask. I am so excited for The Fox and the Hound. I hope they haven't started yet." Emmett was practically giddy for the Disney movie in a way a grown man shouldn't be, but then again he was frozen in the teenage years, so I could see how he could waiver back and forth between the two.

"And I am going to take the leftovers to Charlie. I hope all goes well with Leah." Bella started to clear the table and I knew the house would be fine.

I turned to Embry, asking, "Could you give me a ride?"

He threw a wink back and said, "Anytime. But this time I'll let you keep your clothes on."

I smacked his shoulder, gave him a kiss, and grabbed his hand. "See you guys tomorrow." I ran out of the house dragging his hand, Jacob following behind. Jacob ran ahead and shifted, to keep my eyes as innocent as possible. But that wasn't Embry's style. He did a quick strip (throwing me a naughty wink, regardless of the situation) and hid his clothes in his usual spot. He phased, helped me on his back, and we were there in no time. I slipped off his back and waited for him to change back. He slid on a previously hidden pair of shorts and took long strides with me into the house. Jacob was already standing there, arguing with Sam. Ignoring their lover's quarrel, I strode past them, heading towards the basement. Both Sam and Jacob paused in their shouting, realized someone had flown by them, and began to walk down the stairs after me. Embry followed Sam and Jacob out of respect for their Alpha positions, but I could sense his anxiety at letting me go first.

The second I my footstep echoed of the floor of the basement—the only place big enough in the house to hold a pissed, pacing wolf—Leah's shoulders drooped. Her pacing ceased as her head snapped around to see had entered. Even though she remained in her wolf form, she appeared more at pace with the world, with just my added presence. Or at least that was the sense I got from her. Taking a tentative step, I held my hands in a surrender's pose. Her head bobbed up and down in acceptance. She remained where she was: a safe distance from everyone else as to not enflame her temper any further. I completed my journey across the room, finally able to touch her. I first brushed the fur from her forehead until my fingertips were behind her ears. Then I began to scratch behind her ears, to ease her out of the stressful environment. It worked with any animal—humans included. For some reason, ears had all these nerves that helped to calm anyone down. I had found the sweet melody of a piano soothed me into a calmer state, just as a lullaby entrances a baby to fall asleep. So I continued to scratch Leah behind the ears, until her gaze dropped to the floor, until her the top of her head settled against my chest, until her muzzle brushed against my belly bump, until her hid leg started quickly thumping against the ground and her tail wagged, as encouragement to continue. I let a burst of laughter slip when I realized how easily, how quickly she relaxed.

Now it was time for me to turn my attention on to Sam, and not in the comforting way I had to Leah. I was breaking out the ball-buster—boy, was Mr. Alpha in for a treat.

I gingerly moved to stand by Leah's side, as I left a hand on one ear, but turned my gaze on the boys. "Sam, tell me how you think Leah feels about being restrained."

He fishtailed for an answer, replying with "um…." at first. "I think she is trying to break the treaty." He finally responded sheepishly.

"No, I didn't ask you what you thought she was intending to _do_, I asked you how she _feels. _Do you know Sam? I know with the whole mind reading thing you can hear each other's thoughts but do you ever take time to actually listen to what she thinks, and try to understand what she feels? Because I don't need to read Leah's mind to know until a few seconds ago she was angry, hurt, restrained. Do you understand how she feels about being a wolf? About what you all think about her being the only girl, in the history of the tribe? Do you understand how hurt she is that she has to deal with you dictating her life, after you broke her heart? Have you ever stopped to think why she started taking those long-distance runs? Tell me, Sam, because I need to know."

He seemed like a scared puppy, hiding his tail between his legs, not a fully grown alpha; nonetheless, he answered. "I don't know."

"Let me tell you why. Leah, correct me if I am wrong, but you run to relax, to think, to come to terms with your wolf genes, and to give yourself a sense of freedom that has been taken from your life as of late." Leah nodded her head in response, giving Sam the death glare. If looks could kill, Sam would be slow roasting on a spit, covered in barbeque sauce. "So tell me what legitimate reasons you could possibly have for not allowing her to take her runs?"

"She is putting herself in danger by separating from the pack."

"Are you telling me Leah wouldn't rip any vampire to shreds that threatened her?" Leah growled in response, confirming my suspicions as well as anyone's doubts that she would be more than capable of handling herself. "Try again, Sam."

"She is endangering the pack by separating at such a great distance."

"Bull. The pack is larger now than it ever has been. Give me another reason why she can't run, or I am going to declare your command against her runs, null and void."

When he wasn't forth coming with an addition reason against her freedom, he conceded, "Fine, Leah may continue running again. But this didn't start because of her runs, this started because she is living with those blood-sucking leeches!"

"First, those 'leeches' are practically family to me, so choose your words wisely, wolf. Bear in mind that to the majority of the public, you would both be seen as abominations, menaces to society, so watch who you place into the monster category. Especially after the Cullen family has respected your treaty and your people when they could have easily taken command. Second, this did start because of those runs; this argument started all because Leah has been feeling restricted. She has to live with your commands, while day in and day out she has to be around people that not only don't care for her well-being as they should, but also has to be surrounded by couples, hopelessly in love after she was lied to and left broken-hearted. Put the shoe on the other foot, Sam. How would you feel if the situation were reversed? Wouldn't you need a little room to stretch?" I refused to wait for a response. Sam would either see the error of his ways or not. I wasn't going to twiddle my thumbs waiting for his reply. "Lastly, as for her moving into the Cullen home, is she not a full grown adult, capable of making her own decisions? The Cullen family has _kindly_ offered her a place to stay, in order that she can have some breathing room. She is not breaking the treaty, and they are happy to have her, especially Esme. Leah went wolf because she was so furious that you banned her from living there, so I believe that signals her desire to live there as well. So tell me Sam, why is it a bad idea for her to live there?"

He found his courage and his brain, so he could then give reasonable responses. "She is endangering herself by living with a _coven_ of vampires."

"They have never intended her harm, have offered her a place to live and you think they would want to hurt her? Wolves smell to vampires is like their odor to you: it's mutually disgusting. They have offered to get past that, and the fact that Leah isn't even the same species or part of their family, by offering her with a place to live. So I say again, try again."

"She could reveal tribe secrets to them unknowingly." He had a valid point, but then I had a valid counterpoint.

"Edward Cullen reads minds, and spends every night in the house next to mine, while Embry practically lives with me, so I find it difficult to believe there is little he doesn't know. Anything else, Sam?" I said that last line with a little less decorum; I was exhausted with his excuses.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, I held up my free hand for him to pause his prattling. "For fuck's sake! She just wants freedom from all of this! Her dad has passed, she has been given this wolf gene she considers a curse, she has lost her relationship, and she is forced to watch you live a happy life with someone _related _to her. Give her the freedom she so rightly deserves, and needs in order to accept some of this, and move on with the rest of it. Sam, we could go back and forth for hours with this." I turned my gaze onto Jacob. "Jake, you were the destined Alpha, and although I know you have no intention of taking that from Sam—and I wouldn't dream of asking you—but could you be so kind as to be a tie breaker in this. I ask you this because you aren't and haven't been romantically involved with Leah, and therefore have little to no bias in this situation. Just tell me, with all the information that has been presented to you, can you tell us whether it is realistically alright for Leah to have a little freedom, from all of this, by living with the Cullen family?"

Jacob was thrown off that he was being brought in to decide. However, he could see that was the logical choice, because of his lack of bias. Anyone standing away from the situation could clearly see that Leah needed her space, and if she didn't get that freedom, she could either unintentionally blow-up and hurt someone or become more emotionally and mentally distraught. Jake new this, but paused to make it seem like he was giving more consideration, even though he and I both knew he had his decision even before I asked him to step in as referee. "I think it is in Leah's best interests to allow her to live where she chooses—the Cullen house included—as long as she is aware of the risk she is taking by living with vampires, and off the reservation. You do understand the decision you are making, don't you Leah?" She nodded and barked in response. We all read it as an 'absofrickenlutely' attitude. With her confirmation, the snapters in Sam's brain started finally firing off; he seemed to realize in that instant what I had been saying on Leah's behalf. She was emotionally damaged and needed the physical space to be capable of moving forward with her life.

Sam spoke then, leaving the role of uncompromising ex-boyfriend, resuming the position of Alpha, unbiased leader. "Leah, I relinquish you of all previous commands, you are free to run where you like and live where you like as long as you understand the risk you will be taking."

Instead of nodding her wolf-like head one last time, Leah's animal form began to tremble. The boys immediately turned around to give her some semblance of privacy. Emily took that moment to walk into the basement with a spare change of clothes. Leah took them, giving the best half-grimace, half-smile she could manage at this point. Emily accepted it and helped me give Leah some semblance of the bride she still possessed by turning around as the boys had. She slipped the clothes on quickly, and I knew she had finished when she placed a hand on my shoulder, whispering to me, "thank you."

"Anytime." I whispered back and gave her a sly wink.

Turning to the whole room, Leah cleared her throat. Everyone turned to hear her announcement, "I understand the risks I am taking, and am happy in my home, no matter how little time I have already spent there. Thank you, Sam, for your concern, but I can handle a family of vegetarian vampires." She snorted at the end. I only then realized how much handling she really would be doing. She would be wrestling with Emmett and Jasper, be dress up doll for Alice, make snide comments with Rosalie, assume the role of the additional child Esme needed, had already become the scientific marvel Carlisle required, and possessed enough errant thoughts to even amuse Edward.

"Well, I need to take home my pregnant fiancée, if you all don't mind." Embry spoke the words, and was already taking strides across the basement, pressing his lips against my forehead. Just for my ears he said, "I knew you could do it, babe. But promise me you will no longer confront temperamental werewolves."

Sheepishly, I whispered, "Are vampires off limits, too?"

"Absolutely."

I could feel him smile as he his lips brushed the shell of my ear. It sent shivers and tingles up my spine that made me say, "Take me home, now. We can get in a quickie before your meeting."

"I heard that, and unless Embry is a faster runner than Jacob and Leah combined, I doubt you can manage that." Sam was going to command that Embry be on time for the meeting, as payback for me besting him in the argument.

Embry could sense the order coming, so before it was issued, he had me in his arms and out the back door before Sam could say, "Don't be late."

But just as Embry was leaping out of the window of my room, he threw me a naughty wink that made me want to blow him a kiss, to taunt him a bit. But then he said something that made me want to drag him back to bed. "Thanks for making being late to the meeting so worth it."

Before falling asleep, I checked to ensure that Amy had made it to bed, courtesy of Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie. She was deeply dreaming, though I couldn't imagine how as Seth snored up a storm in the bed next to hers. I couldn't imagine how Mrs. Clearwater was handling Seth's absence as well as Leah's. I guess Leah's was to be expected, she was a high school graduate after all. But Seth was her baby boy. We needed to limit the number of nights a week he could spend over, patrol or no patrol.

I tried going to sleep after checking on my sister, and I knew I should have been able to, but something was niggling at the back of my mind. Then I remembered my guests from earlier. They had all taken the news as well as anyone could. Especially, Emmett. The hard part was going to be finding a role for Charlie in the wedding, because under normal circumstances, he should be giving me away, being that he is the only male, blood relative I have. Embry and I would have to talk some more about it, because we hadn't exactly figured that part out yet. I knew I wanted him as part of the wedding just not how exactly. Speaking of Charlie, and the Swan residence, Edward and Bella would be snuggling into bed to right now. Bing. I had promised I would _tell _Bella about the fiasco through Edward. I replayed the whole event as I saw it, for Edward to relay to Bella. A bit after I had finished, my cellphone rang. It was Bella, of course.

"So everyone is okay. Leah is alright?"

"Didn't Edward just tell you how it played out? Leah is fine, living at the Cullen residence for as long as the Cullen family welcomes her and as long as she wants to be residing there. All is well. Except I am exhausted. Making Sam see his faults is like asking a bull to not run at the red flag, basically impossible."

I heard Edward's chuckle through the phone and then I heard him say, "Let me to talk to her once you are done."

An image of Bella's puzzled look popped into my head. How fittingly comedic. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, and thanks for being my bridesmaid, Bella." I knew how hard it would be to stand next to Alice and Rosalie, looking as radiant as ever, even though Bella would never say as much. I knew Alice would make Bella gorgeous—even as a bridesmaid. Nonetheless, I needed to thank her for her courage for the wedding and her love for me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, and thank you for asking me. Here's Edward." The rustling of the phone exchanging hands came over the static until Edward's clear voice rang through the line.

"I think I have a solution to your problem."

"Which one? I have a pretty long list at this point, future-cousin-in-law." If I said that then maybe he and Bella would get hitched sooner rather than later. I would already be the really pregnant bridesmaid, I didn't want to be the elephant bridesmaid.

Edward just laughed at my aloud commentary as much as my inner monologue. "I was thinking of your Charlie problem. Now I know you have already asked Billy to preside over the ceremony, but Charlie is ordained as well. They could do it together, and then you would have Charlie in your ceremony, without him being hurt that he isn't walking you down the aisle."

"That's actually pretty perfect. Now comes the tough part. Asking him to do it, when I am not really supposed to know that he is ordained."

I could sense Edward's grin and mentally told him to wipe it off of his smug face, which only made him laugh out loud. "Well, that sounds more like an obstacle rather than a problem, Abby."

"Different word, same issue." My yawn slipped out before I could catch it. "Well, I clearly need some sleep. Say goodnight to Bella for me, cousin-in-law."

"I thought it was supposed to be future."

"That's too wordy, and it's inevitable isn't it. So you might as well get used to hearing it and I might as well get used to saying it."

"Valid point." He conceded. "See you at school."

"See you in the morning, sneaking out of Bella's window." And I hung up before he could formulate a reply. I was really getting good at that. I drifted off to sleep again before I could be concerned about the fact that I was exhausted and it was only half an hour past nine.

I would normally say school the next day flew by, as usual. I don't even know why I mention it any more. Oh that's right, in case it is unusual. Like it was right up until lunch time, when I swear I saw red eyes hiding in the forest.


	12. Chapter 12: Stacking Up the Defense

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Stacking Up the Defense**_

I felt like those eyes were following me, but I couldn't be sure. And I couldn't be sure to whom they belonged. The normal chill that follows a sense of being watched, accompanied with standard goose-bumps and hair standing straight on the back of your neck, remained absent. In fact, I would have to say the watchful eyes were comforting, guarding. Creepy? Absolutely, but reassuring.

I didn't mention this to anyone. I thought Edward would catch it in my thoughts, seeing as how he sat across from me at the lunch table; but he didn't. Perhaps, someone else's thoughts were more interesting.

I stopped by the grocery store after school—I was feeding an army for dinner, after all. The hefty woman who checked and bagged my groceries, slid me a knowing, familiar grin, saying, "You only have a little girl living with you, who all do you feed?"

"A pack of hungry wolves." People rarely believed an honest, ridiculous answer. She was no different, as she threw back a hearty, raw, cigarette laugh, and continued to bag the food. She waved goodbye and continued to shake her head with a smile on her lips. I made the drive home without running over another vampire, barely.

As I walked into the kitchen carrying the first load of groceries, Esme and Leah stood at the island waiting to help cook. After giving me a quick hello and hug, they both finished unloading the bags from the car. The three of us slid around the kitchen comfortably, making dish, after dish, after dish. The conversation was a little more awkward but happened nonetheless.

Leah initiated it, feeling the need to thank me. "Abby, I owe you my life. Not just for last night, but for everything you have done to help me past this rough stage in my life. I know I am not through it yet, but your advice as well as your defense has been everything to me. Thank you."

"Oh, Leah, think nothing of it. I know you would do the same for me, and besides we are practically family. You're Embry's sister—for all intense and purposes—and I am marrying him. Essentially, you are my sister-in-law. Regardless of that, I would help you. Never hesitate in asking if you need anything else. Sam is a hard-headed mule, so if I need to take care of him again so you can live your life, just say the word. Besides, now you have an entire coven of vampires who would stand for you."

Leah still seemed puzzled that the Cullen family would do that for her. It was one act of kindness to let her live in their house, but it was another type of crazy to defend her in a fight. Esme spoke up, sensing that Leah didn't believe that the Cullens would stand for her.

"Honey, you have gone against your instincts to live with us, when you could have easily lived somewhere else. You chose to defend our honor by standing by your decision to live with us. That means more to us than you can ever imagine. You have been raised to believe that we are monsters, more so than the rest of society, and yet you went against the grain by entrusting us with your life and by trusting us with private matters, such as your concerns about being a genetic anomaly. We owe you at least a small sign of gratitude, and if that means defending you against Sam, or anyone else who wants to restrict your freedom, we have no qualms with standing by your side."

Just as Esme finished speaking, Embry strolled through the back door with Seth, Paul, Jared and Jacob at his heels. "We could smell the cooking from a mile away. Do you have anything we can taste test?" Embry asked, already poking his head into the oven.

"Only if you five wash up first. I know you were just running around on all fours in the forest, so don't try to tell me that your hands are clean." Esme said warmly, but brokering no argument. And the boys quickly divided and raced to the two bathrooms, but Embry, was smart, and strolled to the closest sink—in the kitchen. He finished drying his hands and was taste testing my sweet potatoes before the other four had begun lathering their hands.

He grinned after taking the first bite, his eyes rolling back in his head, his eye lids closing, as he savored the sweet potato flavor, accentuated by the cinnamon and brown sugar. "I love being smarter than the average dog."

Leah burst with a tinkle of laughter, completely complimentary to her personality and appearance as of late. Prior to the change, her laughter could not have been possible, which is why the boys still seemed puzzled as they halted at the edge of the kitchen, before cautiously strolling into the room. Jake threw me a look with a hitched eyebrow, saying _where did that come from? _I could only shake my head, silently telling him to leave it alone.

After the boys, everyone slowly filed into the house, vampires and werewolves alike. Once Emmett and Rosalie arrived with Amy, Seth took her upstairs; no one wanted her part of this conversation, and no one needed her to have nightmares about vampires that drank the blood of humans. Seth traveled back downstairs after he ensured that Amy sat snuggly in bed listening to music and reading a book. Bella and Edward were nearly the last to walk through the door, but I knew Edward tried to keep her preoccupied enough so that she would forget coming. She not only seemed thoroughly kissed but also resolute in attending this meeting. In the end, Sam was the last to arrive, with a guest….Billy.

I stood next to the door as Sam wheeled Billy into the house, but ignored Sam altogether. Frankly, Billy was the elder and more authoritative figure, automatically deserving my unwavering respect, and I loved the old man. Plus, Sam's pig headedness from earlier still rubbed me the wrong way.

"Billy, what a surprise? I wasn't expecting you, but Esme, Leah and I made plenty of food."

He rubbed his miniature belly, as if he had silently been wishing it could be filled. "I would love some of your grub, but you and I both know that I came here for more than your good cooking."

"Of course, but I require that everyone needs to eat before the meeting begins. We wouldn't want this to turn into an argument."

"Of course not. Lead the way, my dear." Billy gestured with a wave of his hand to the kitchen. Billy started to wheel himself, following me at the heels, so Sam left to grab his own plate of food. After the wolves were as full as possible, I began the meeting.

"So we all know why we are here. We have a vampire infestation, of the human-blood-drinking sort. What precautions do we need to take in preparation for this?"

"Wait, I thought we were talking about the red-headed vampire problem?" Paul objected, calm, but firmly confused.

"Frankly, I thought the problems were the same thing." Jake threw in his thoughts, as he sat next to Billy's left. Both Carlisle and Billy sat at the heads while I sat in the middle, but what was more curious was where Leah sat. Right in the middle, across from me.

"I know we talked about this last weekend, and decided to let it play out but I am starting to be concerned with the massacre in Seattle being so drastic. There is no way one vampire can be doing this all, right?" I proposed, swinging my head towards the Cullens.

Jasper was the first to speak up. "It's definitely more than one vampire, but at this stage it is hard to tell how many and how uncontrolled they are. Just as you said at the last meeting, we need to wait. Before we decide to actually head into Seattle, we need to know what we are up against."

"Wait, I thought Alice could see the future. Can't you see who is behind this?" Jake's mind as sharp tonight.

"Normally, yes. But there are too many unknown factors for me to focus."

"What kind of unknown factors?" Jared questioned, just as curious as Jake.

"Whoever is in Seattle, I haven't met before, so I can't focus on their decisions. The decision making is the biggest part of allowing me to see visions clearly. I am also watching for so many other people making decisions, it's harder to hone in on someone I have never met." Anyone in the room could tell Alice was disappointed in herself for not being able to do more.

"Alice, thank you for trying so hard. But who else could you be watching?" Billy spoke this time, using one of the Cullen's first names for once.

Even Alice took a moment, pausing in appreciation for Billy's recognition, but did formulate her reply. "I am watching for Victoria, to see if she has decided to come back to Forks, but her decisions are extremely sporadic. I am not sure, but I think she might know this whole in my vision, based on what Laurent told her."

"Laurent?" Billy asked, having no connection to the name.

"The vampire who tried to 'mercifully' kill Bella this winter. He and Victoria use to be in the same coven, so he held a certain amount of loyalty to her. He came across the information about Alice, and the rest of the Cullens, because he was residing with the Denali Clan up north. The Denali are longtime friends of the Cullens, so what they knew, Laurent knew, and what he knew, he told Victoria."

"Thank you, Abby. But shall we get back to the focus of this meeting? What is our plan of attack?" Sam spoke gruffly, but I understood he was trying to direct the meeting. He spent the least amount of time with the Cullens, and therefore felt uncomfortable sitting in a room with them.

So I continued the direction of the meeting, to prevent Sam from losing his marbles. "The plan is to wait. We have no knowledge about this vampire, or group of vampires, in Seattle, and Victoria is being evasive as well, correct? So the only question now is what do we do about our line of defense?" Ironically enough, I say _we_ like I am included with the rest and can fight and defend myself against a blood thirsty vampire.

"Before, we suggested extending the defense line to the Swan and Caldwell residence, right?" Jared's memory was better than mine, because I sure as hell don't remember my house being part of the deal.

"Absolutely. These houses lie between our lands and cannot be left undefended." Jasper confirmed, agreeing with Jared.

"So it is settled that both sides will extend their security to encompass both houses?" Billy finalized.

I needed to stop this train before it flew off the tracks. "Hold the phone, there was no Caldwell in that last discussion. Victoria is after Bella, not me or Amy. And although I would appreciate the extra security, can we just ask before jumping the gun? None of you even asked Bella if she wanted this security either, before you," I directed my stare at the Cullens, "started defending her. While this is admirable, people need to agree to the defense so they can not only help, but also so they don't feel violated and lied to from the beginning. So at some point, you all better feel guilty for treating Bella like a child. Yes, she's human and therefore a little defenseless in situations like these, just as Amy and I are, but we aren't morons.

"Now," I said, addressing the entire table, "I would love the extra security. What about you, Bella? Do you think we could use a few more guard dog and bats?"

A rare smirk crept onto her face as she winked my way. "I think I could tolerate a few more animals around the house."

"Great, so you all can extend your borders, and we can all wait to see how these vampire situations play out. Agreed?" By the time I had finished my speaking, everyone looked sorely reprimanded, but nodded their heads or gave a verbal agreement of some sort.

"Fantastic. So who wants dessert?" And almost everyone perked up around the room. The ones who couldn't eat knew they were forgiven and continued to talk animatedly with the rest of the group. Sam left immediately, incapable of tolerating the smell much longer. He may be the alpha through Jacob's concession, but as of now, he seemed to not be a very good diplomat. However, the rest of the pack dove into dessert and started talking it up with the Cullens. Even Billy stayed for food and company.

Eventually, I started falling asleep on Embry's shoulder, and everyone took that as the cue to leave. I tried to reassure them that I didn't want them to leave, but they saw my exhaustion as a sign that the baby needed its rest. They left, taking the desserts with them and continuing their conversations in the front yard for who knows how long. I would not be able to tell you, because Embry carried me to bed. He whispered to me, knowing I was lucid enough to hear. "I have first patrol tonight. I'll be back in a few hours to keep you two warm."

I might have mumbled back, "Can you make sure Seth goes to his mom's tonight? He needs to spend more time there."

"Sure," I could hear the smile in his voice. "Now go to sleep sweetheart, you're sleeping for two."

"Come back to me."

"Always." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, my lips, and our baby bump. I drifted to sleep, knowing that even though he couldn't be in bed right now, he was still protecting my sister, my cousin, my uncle, me and our baby.

The red eyes stared back at me. I could not, would not look away. My instincts told me I should be scared. Hell, I should be running through the forest, clutching my stomach to protect my child. I should be screaming bloody murder. I should be calling for Embry. Or anybody, any pack member or any Cullen. They would run to my aid in a heartbeat. Did I even have a heartbeat to spare? Not against red eyes. My body knew it would be outnumbered before my blood could finish pulsing in my veins. But my heart knew that these red eyes were trustworthy. This one had never hurt me before. Why would she start now?

I could feel the desperation in these red eyes. That was the difference. There had never been this desperation before. But this desperation was not out of a fear of herself, rather out of fear of other people, for other people. A fear for me. But then these red eyes, framed by brunette hair changed. The worry and fear shifted to vicious violence and hatred. A red, curly mane shifted in front of these red eyes. Now my mind, heart, and body stood in agreement.

I began to run, over fallen trees, trying not to slip on the moss. The bite of the fresh snow froze my bare feet in a few strides. The cold crept up my legs. I dodged between the trees. I thought that maybe I could escape her, if I ran fast enough. But that just wasn't true. There was no escape in my future. There was no one to rescue me now, no matter how loud I screamed, Embry couldn't get to me fast enough, before the vengeful red eyes caught up to me.

Before I could run much further, her pace measured a few steps behind me, her hand wrapped around my hair and yanked it back. My head, my neck, and my shoulders immediately followed as my legs were still running forward. I ended up on the ground, being pulled my hair, my body thrashing in the mud and moss as my arms tried to claw at the hand grasping my head. My body curled, trying to protect the baby still inside me. She dragged me to an opening in the midst of all the trees. She dropped her grip on my head once I was in the center of the small clearing. I backed away from my attacker as much as I could, until I bumped into another pair of ice, granite legs. I looked up to the unfamiliar, red eyes matching the stone cold legs. Then my eyes jumped to another pair of eyes, and another, and another, until they landed on the red eyes and fiery hair. She snarled towards me and said to the other vampires, "finish her."

Before she could finish enunciating "her," they were on me, clawing at any limb they could find. I was crying and pleading as they sank their teeth into my flesh, sliding through muscle and grinding against bone, but I didn't let out a piercing scream until one of them bit into my stomach, and I could feel my baby kicking and clawing against intrusion, already changing into a wolf as he phased inside of me. But as the teeth and claws fought for dominance I sat up with a scream.

I opened my eyes to find myself in my room, on my bed, drenched in sweat, clutching my stomach. My erratic breathing started to calm as Embry slid through the window. My mind and body relaxed a bit knowing it had all been a dream and that Embry was here. He crawled into bed, wrapping his arms around me, lifting me into his lap.

He whispered in my ear, his hands rubbing calming circles on my back, "What happened?"

"Victoria, she was chasing me, and I was running from her in the forest. It was winter though. Dead middle of winter. She caught me, dragged me to a group of newborns, and then they attacked me. I called for you but there wasn't enough time for you to run to me. There were so many of them. And then one of them bit into my belly, and our baby shifted into a wolf while he was still inside me. He tried to use his claws to fight of the vampire from inside, and then I woke up."

He rubbed my shoulders, kissing my ear. "Firstly, I would run so fast, I'd be there before you could say 'bloodsucker.' Secondly, I am not going to leave your side and be out of running distance from you, unless you order me away. Not even then would I leave you defenseless."

"You're right, I know you are. But it's still nerve racking to think that Victoria and the newborns are all so close. And us with a baby on the way. It's not exactly the safest world to bring a baby into."

My hands rested on my barely there baby bump. He was awake and kicking, clearly shaken from what had been bothering me. I rubbed my belly, trying to reassure him. Embry continued his rubbing, trying his hardest to calm me down. "It may not be the safest time to have a baby, but you have an entire army of people ready to protect her, or him. You don't think blondie would tear apart anyone who tried to lay a hand on our child?"

"You're totally right. But that doesn't make my dream any less frightening."

He kissed my temple, leaning back onto the pillows, and taking me with him. We snuggled into the bed, into positions we could fall asleep in. "I'm here now, to chase away all of the bad dreams. Now you're only allowed to think of me and you, naked on a beach in the Caribbean."

My eyes drifted close, but I mumbled back, "Somewhere cold would be better, so you and I wouldn't overheat while we were having hot, honeymoon sex."

"Okay, somewhere cold, with lots of snow, and I can make you some hot chocolate. Now, go to sleep and dream of us."

"Always."

* * *

**I know it's been a long time, but the next chapter is going to have some more action, and that chapter will be posted by Sunday. Especially if you post a comment telling me what you think? What gender do you think the baby really is? Are the red eye vampires going to attack soon? Is there going to be drama with a Volturi showing up at the wedding? More to come soon! And a Happy New Year!**


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